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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 Pigeon (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 Pigeon. 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 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.

Pigeon is located in Forest 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 Forest County: Clarion, Elk, Jefferson, Venango & Warren.

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

  • Forest County     (The home county of Pigeon)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pigeon, with the one closest to Pigeon listed first.
    • Iron City
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Iron City is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
    • Sheffield Junction
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Sheffield Junction is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield Junction
    • Marienville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Marienville is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marienville
    • Balltown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Balltown is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balltown
    • Roses
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Roses is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roses
    • Gilfoyle
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Gilfoyle is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilfoyle
    • Redclyffe
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Redclyffe is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redclyffe
    • Clarington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Trunkeyville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Trunkeyville is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trunkeyville
    • Fagundus
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Fagundus is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fagundus
    • Jamison
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Jamison is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamison
    • Tionesta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
  • Clarion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pigeon, with the one closest to Pigeon listed first.
    • Crown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Crown is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown
    • Cooksburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Leeper
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Newmansville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Newmansville is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newmansville
    • Wolfs Corners
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Wolfs Corners is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfs Corners
    • Helen Furnace
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Helen Furnace is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen Furnace
    • Fryburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Marble
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Venus
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Venus is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venus
    • Arthurs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Arthurs is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthurs
    • Day
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Day is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Day
    • Strattanville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Clarion
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Clearfield County
    • Treasure Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Treasure Lake is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Treasure Lake
  • Elk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pigeon, with the one closest to Pigeon listed first.
    • Russell City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Russell City is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell City
    • Windy City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Windy City is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windy City
    • Hallton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Hallton is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallton
    • McKinley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • McKinley is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKinley
    • James City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Millstone
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Millstone is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstone
    • Lake City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Whistletown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Whistletown is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistletown
    • Wilcox
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Ridgway
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Johnsonburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Johnsonburg is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,264 people
    • Streights
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Streights is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Streights
    • Horton City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Horton City is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton City
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pigeon, with the one closest to Pigeon listed first.
    • Schoffner Corner
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Schoffner Corner is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schoffner Corner
    • Ella
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Ella is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ella
    • Munderf
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Munderf is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munderf
    • Sigel
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Hazen
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Hazen is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazen
    • Howe
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Howe is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
    • Warsaw
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Warsaw is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warsaw
    • Brockway
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Allens Mills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Allens Mills is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Mills
    • Crenshaw
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Crenshaw is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crenshaw
    • Brookville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Corsica
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Corsica is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corsica
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 342 people
    • Baxter
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Baxter is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
  • McKean County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pigeon, with the one closest to Pigeon listed first.
    • Kane
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Kane is located in McKean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kane
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,421 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kane <1>
    • Coontown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Coontown is located in McKean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coontown
    • Kanesholm
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Kanesholm is located in McKean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanesholm
    • Westline
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Freeman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Freeman is located in McKean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
    • Hutchins
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Hutchins is located in McKean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchins
    • Tallyho
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Tallyho is located in McKean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallyho
    • Mount Jewett
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Timbuck
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Timbuck is located in McKean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timbuck
    • Big Shanty
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Big Shanty is located in McKean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Shanty
  • Venango County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pigeon, with the one closest to Pigeon listed first.
    • President
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • President is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for President
    • Pithole City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Pithole City is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pithole City
    • Pleasantville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Coal Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Coal Hill is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Hill
    • Shamburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Shamburg is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamburg
    • Fertigs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Fertigs is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertigs
    • Plumer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Plumer is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumer
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pigeon, with the one closest to Pigeon listed first.
    • Henrys Mills
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Henrys Mills is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrys Mills
    • Donaldson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Donaldson is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
    • Hoover
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Hoover is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover
    • Barnes
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Barnes is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes
    • Sheffield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Hermit Spring
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Hermit Spring is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermit Spring
    • Roystone
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Roystone is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roystone
    • Saybrook
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Saybrook is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saybrook
    • Clarendon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Stoneham
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Stoneham is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneham
    • Cobham
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Cobham is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobham
    • Big Bend
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Big Bend is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
    • Tidioute
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Pigeon ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pigeon.

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 Pigeon - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • North Forest Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Roses Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Brookston Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Highland Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Maxwell Run Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Blue Ridge Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Cherry Grove Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Whig Hill Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • St. Mary's Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Mary's Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Mary's Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in the vicinity of Crown
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #366360 <2>
  • Mt. Tabor Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Callistus Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Forest Lawn Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (84 more) ...
    • Moriah Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Cook Forest Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Ott Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)

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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Pigeon had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Byromtown
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Byromtown is located in Forest County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byromtown
  • Penoke
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Penoke is located in Forest County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penoke
  • Sheffield Junction
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Sheffield Junction is located in Forest County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield Junction
  • Marienville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Marienville is located in Forest County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marienville
  • Corduroy
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Corduroy is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corduroy
  • Chaffee
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Chaffee is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaffee
  • Roses
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Roses is located in Forest County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roses
  • Sackett
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Sackett is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sackett
  • Brookston
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Brookston is located in Forest County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookston
  • Balltown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Balltown is located in Forest County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balltown
  • Williams
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Williams is located in Forest County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams
  • Mayburg
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Mayburg is located in Forest County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayburg
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Gilfoyle
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Gilfoyle is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilfoyle
    • Donaldson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Donaldson is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
    • Redclyffe
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Redclyffe is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redclyffe

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

Newspapers Published in Pigeon ...

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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pigeon.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pigeon, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pigeon.

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 Pigeon:

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 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.
<3>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 Pigeon, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Pigeon) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.