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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Philson (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Philson. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Philson is located in Somerset County.

To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Somerset County: Allegany (MD), Garrett (MD), Bedford, Cambria, Fayette & Westmoreland.

Below are the counties that are near Philson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Philson:

  • Somerset County     (The home county of Philson)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philson, with the one closest to Philson listed first.
    • Callimont
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Callimont is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callimont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
    • Wittenberg
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Wittenberg is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittenberg
    • Johnsburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Fairhope
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Hays Mill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hays Mill is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays Mill
    • Wellersburg
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Wellersburg is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellersburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
    • Glade City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Glade City is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade City
    • Berlin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Pine Hill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Pine Hill is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
    • Meyersdale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • West Meyersdale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • West Meyersdale is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Meyersdale
    • Althouse
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Althouse is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Althouse
    • Beachdale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Beachdale is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beachdale
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philson, with the one closest to Philson listed first.
    • Hyndman
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Stringtown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Stringtown is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Cooks Mills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
    • Kegg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Kegg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
    • Beans Cove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Beans Cove is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Cove
    • Rainsburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Rainsburg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
    • Manns Choice
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Schellsburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Charlesville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Charlesville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesville
    • New Paris
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Bedford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Wolfsburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Wolfsburg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfsburg
    • Cliffs ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Cliffs is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffs
  • Cambria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philson, with the one closest to Philson listed first.
    • Ingleside
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Ingleside is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
    • Scalp Level
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Scalp Level is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalp Level
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 691 people
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philson, with the one closest to Philson listed first.
    • Seven Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Champion
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Indian Head
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Indian Head is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
    • Markleysburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Allegany County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philson, with the one closest to Philson listed first.
    • Barrelville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
    • Mount Savage
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Ellerslie
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Ellerslie is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
    • Corriganville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Corriganville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
    • Zihlman
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Zihlman is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zihlman
    • Mount Savage Junction
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Savage Junction is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Savage Junction
    • Clarysville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Clarysville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarysville
    • Eckhart Mines
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Eckhart Mines is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckhart Mines
    • Frostburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • La Vale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Midlothian
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Midlothian is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midlothian
    • Borden Shaft
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Borden Shaft is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Shaft
    • Cumberland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Garrett County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philson, with the one closest to Philson listed first.
    • Avilton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Avilton is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
    • Grantsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bittinger
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bloomington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Bloomington is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
    • Accident
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Friendsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • McHenry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Swanton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Hampshire County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philson, with the one closest to Philson listed first.
    • Donaldson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Donaldson is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
    • Okonoko
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Okonoko is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okonoko
    • Springfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Ritters
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Ritters is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritters
    • Points
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Points is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Points
    • Wapocomo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Wapocomo is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapocomo
  • Mineral County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philson, with the one closest to Philson listed first.
    • Carpendale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Carpendale is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpendale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 900 people
    • Ridgeley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Wiley Ford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Short Gap
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Short Gap is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Gap
    • Fort Ashby
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Piedmont
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Keyser
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Keyser is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyser
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,863 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keyser <1>
    • Windom ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Windom is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
    • Headsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Headsville is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
    • Shaw
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Shaw is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
  • Morgan County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philson, with the one closest to Philson listed first.
    • Doe Gully
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Doe Gully is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Gully
    • Hansrote
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Hansrote is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansrote
    • Magnolia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Magnolia is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
    • Orleans Cross Roads
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Orleans Cross Roads is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans Cross Roads
    • Paw Paw
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Philson, see our County-by-County Page for Philson.

Cemeteries Near Philson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Philson.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Philson - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Philson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Philson, with the one closest to Philson listed first.

  • Lebanon Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Zion Reformed Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Zion Reformed Cemetery
    • The Mt. Zion Reformed Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hays Reformed Cemetery
    • Mt. Zion - Hays Cemetery
    • Mt. Zion United Church of Christ (UCC) Cemetery
  • Reformed Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Finzel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Old Coney Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Union Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Porter Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Emmanuel Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Garrett Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Highland Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Percy Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (196 more) ...
    • Rose Meadow Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Restlawn Memorial Gardens
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Sarver Church Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Philson had a population of 42 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Philson, with the one closest to Philson listed first.

  • Wittenberg
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Wittenberg is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittenberg
  • Glencoe
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Glencoe is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glencoe
  • Foley
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Foley is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foley
  • Sand Patch
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Sand Patch is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Patch
  • Johnsburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Wellersburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Wellersburg is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellersburg
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
  • Fairhope
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Hays Mill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hays Mill is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays Mill
  • Pocahontas
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Pocahontas is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
  • Williams
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Williams is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams
  • Berlin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Hoblitzell
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Hoblitzell is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoblitzell
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Pine Hill Station
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Pine Hill Station is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill Station
    • Pine Hill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Pine Hill is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
    • Salisbury Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Salisbury Junction is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury Junction

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Philson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Philson.

Newspapers Published in Philson ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 71 newspapers that have been published in the area around Philson.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Philson, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Philson.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Philson:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MIHP (for the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties). More information about the MHT and MIHP can be found on their website: mht.maryland.gov.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Philson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<5>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Philson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.