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 Plainfield (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 Plainfield. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Plainfield is located in York 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 York County: Baltimore (MD), Carroll (MD), Harford (MD), Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin & Lancaster.
Below are the counties that are near Plainfield. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Plainfield:
- York County (The home county of Plainfield)
- The following are listed by their distance from Plainfield, with the one closest to Plainfield listed first.
- Goldsboro
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Goldsboro is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 938 people
- Valley Green
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Valley Green is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Green
- Redland Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Redland Village is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redland Village
- Marsh Run
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Marsh Run is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Run
- Quaker Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Quaker Village is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Village
- York Haven
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- New Market
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- New Market is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
- Strinestown
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Strinestown is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strinestown
- Erney
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Erney is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erney
- Lewisberry
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Nauvoo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Nauvoo is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nauvoo
- Rudytown ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Rudytown is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudytown
- Franklintown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Franklintown is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklintown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plainfield, with the one closest to Plainfield listed first.
- East Berlin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Meade
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Meade is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Meade
- Latimore
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Latimore is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latimore
- York Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Abbottstown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hampton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hampton is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- Gargol
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Gargol is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gargol
- Gardners
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Heidlersburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Heidlersburg is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidlersburg
- Idaville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Idaville is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idaville
- Newchester
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Newchester is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newchester
- New Oxford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Aspers
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Allegheny County
- Bloomfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bloomfield is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,255 people
- Berks County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plainfield, with the one closest to Plainfield listed first.
- Meckville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Meckville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meckville
- Mount Aetna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plainfield, with the one closest to Plainfield listed first.
- New Cumberland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lisburn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Lisburn is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisburn
- Lemoyne
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lower Allen
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lower Allen is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Allen
- Camp Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wormleysburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- West Fairview
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- West Fairview is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fairview
- Allenview
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Allenview is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenview
- Shiremanstown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Shiremanstown is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiremanstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,641 people
- Sporting Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sporting Hill is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sporting Hill
- Enola
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Good Hope
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Good Hope is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
- Mechanicsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Dauphin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plainfield, with the one closest to Plainfield listed first.
- Middletown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Royalton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Royalton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royalton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,019 people
- Highspire
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Clifton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Clifton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Steelton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Lawnton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lawnton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawnton
- Rutherford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Rutherford is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherford
- Hummelstown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Paxtang
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Paxtang is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxtang
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,546 people
- Marene Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Marene Village is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marene Village
- Springford Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Springford Village is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springford Village
- Penbrook
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Penbrook is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penbrook
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,976 people
- Progress
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Progress is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progress
- Lancaster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plainfield, with the one closest to Plainfield listed first.
- Falmouth
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Falmouth is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
- Aberdeen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Aberdeen is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberdeen
- Elizabethtown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Billmeyer ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Billmeyer is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billmeyer
- Rheems
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Rheems is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rheems
- Maytown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Milton Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Milton Grove is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Grove
- Florin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Florin is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florin
- Marietta
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mastersonville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Mastersonville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mastersonville
- Mount Joy
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Columbia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ironville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ironville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironville
- Lebanon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plainfield, with the one closest to Plainfield listed first.
- Lawn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Campbelltown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Palmyra
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Colebrook
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Colebrook is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colebrook
- Mount Gretna
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Timber Hills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Timber Hills is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Hills
- Syner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Syner is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syner
- Mount Gretna Heights
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Mount Gretna Heights is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gretna Heights
- Fontana
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Fontana is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontana
- Annville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Quentin
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Burd Coleman Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Burd Coleman Village is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burd Coleman Village
- Cleona
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plainfield, with the one closest to Plainfield listed first.
- Marysville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Perdix
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Perdix is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perdix
- Cove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cove is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove
- Duncannon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- New Buffalo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- New Buffalo is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Buffalo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
- Rose Glen
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Rose Glen is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Glen
- Mecks Corner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mecks Corner is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mecks Corner
- Bailey
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bailey is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Falling Spring
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Falling Spring is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Spring
- Blain
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Newport
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Alinda
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Alinda is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alinda
- Landisburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Schuylkill County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plainfield, with the one closest to Plainfield listed first.
- Suedberg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Suedberg is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suedberg
- Irving
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Irving is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Plainfield, see our County-by-County Page for Plainfield.
Cemeteries Near Plainfield ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Plainfield.
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 Plainfield - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Plainfield covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Plainfield, with the one closest to Plainfield listed first.
- Miller Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Smoketown Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Fetrow Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Fisher Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Paddletown Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Middletown Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Salem UMC Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Falmouth Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Crossroads Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Parkville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (256 more) ...
- Midland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Olivet Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Olivet Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Harrisburg.
- The Mt. Olivet Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1921632 <2>
- Goods Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Plainfield in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Plainfield.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Plainfield, with the one closest to Plainfield listed first.
- Goldsboro
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Goldsboro is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 938 people
- Yocumtown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Yocumtown is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yocumtown
- Highspire
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Middletown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Newberrytown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Newberrytown is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newberrytown
- Falmouth
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Falmouth is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
- Marsh Run
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Marsh Run is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Run
- York Haven
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Clifton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Clifton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Lewisberry
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Erney
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Erney is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erney
- Strinestown
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Strinestown is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strinestown
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Conewago
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Conewago is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conewago
- Oberlin
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Oberlin is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oberlin
- Steelton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Plainfield. See our List of 1890's Communities around Plainfield.
Newspapers Published in Plainfield ...
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 181 newspapers that have been published in the area around Plainfield.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Plainfield, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Plainfield.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Plainfield:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to York County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Allegheny County
- Berks County
- Cumberland County
- Dauphin County
- Lancaster County
- Lebanon County
- Perry County
- Schuylkill County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Plainfield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Plainfield, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |