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 Plainville (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 Plainville. 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.
Plainville is located in Lebanon 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 Lebanon County: Berks, Dauphin, Lancaster & Schuylkill.
Below are the counties that are near Plainville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Plainville:
- Lebanon County (The home county of Plainville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Plainville, with the one closest to Plainville listed first.
- Campbelltown
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Palmyra
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Colebrook
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Colebrook is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colebrook
- Lawn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fontana
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Fontana is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontana
- Mount Gretna Heights
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Mount Gretna Heights is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gretna Heights
- Mount Gretna
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Timber Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Timber Hills is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Hills
- Syner
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Syner is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syner
- Annville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Quentin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Cleona
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Westmont
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Westmont is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmont
- Berks County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plainville, with the one closest to Plainville listed first.
- Meckville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Meckville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meckville
- Mount Aetna
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Wintersville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Wintersville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wintersville
- Bethel
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Womelsdorf
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Rehrersburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rehrersburg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rehrersburg
- Robesonia
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- North Heidelberg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- North Heidelberg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Heidelberg
- Schubert
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Schubert is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schubert
- New Schaefferstown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- New Schaefferstown is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Schaefferstown
- Strausstown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Phoebe Berks Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Wernersville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plainville, with the one closest to Plainville listed first.
- Lemoyne
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- New Cumberland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Lower Allen
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Lower Allen is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Allen
- West Fairview
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- West Fairview is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fairview
- Wormleysburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Camp Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Enola
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Lisburn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Lisburn is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisburn
- Westwood Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Westwood Village is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
- Shiremanstown
(20 miles [32.2 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
- Allenview
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Allenview is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenview
- Good Hope
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Good Hope is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
- Sporting Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Sporting Hill is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sporting Hill
- Dauphin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plainville, with the one closest to Plainville listed first.
- Bachmanville
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Bachmanville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bachmanville
- Hershey
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Union Deposit
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Union Deposit is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Deposit
- Hummelstown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Grantville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Shellsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Shellsville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shellsville
- Clifton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Clifton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Manadahill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Manadahill is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manadahill
- Skyline View
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Skyline View is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline View
- Middletown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Royalton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Royalton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royalton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,019 people
- Rutherford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Rutherford is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherford
- Springford Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Springford Village is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springford Village
- Lancaster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plainville, with the one closest to Plainville listed first.
- Aberdeen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Aberdeen is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberdeen
- Mastersonville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mastersonville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mastersonville
- Elizabethtown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Milton Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Milton Grove is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Grove
- Mount Hope
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mount Hope is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Rheems
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Rheems is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rheems
- Elstonville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Elstonville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elstonville
- Naumanstown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Naumanstown is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naumanstown
- Florin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Florin is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florin
- Mount Joy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Manheim
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sporting Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sporting Hill is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sporting Hill
- Falmouth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Falmouth is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
- Luzerne County
- Newtown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Newtown is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
- Northumberland County
- Malta
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Malta is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plainville, with the one closest to Plainville listed first.
- Marysville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Perdix
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Perdix is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perdix
- Cove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Cove is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove
- New Buffalo
(24 miles [38.6 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
- Duncannon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Rose Glen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Rose Glen is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Glen
- Bailey
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bailey is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Liverpool
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Schuylkill County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plainville, with the one closest to Plainville listed first.
- Suedberg
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Suedberg is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suedberg
- Irving
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Irving is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
- Beuchler
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Beuchler is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beuchler
- Marstown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Marstown is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marstown
- Orwin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Orwin is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orwin
- Tower City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Pine Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lorberry Junction
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Lorberry Junction is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorberry Junction
- Ravine
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Ravine is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravine
- Paradise
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Paradise is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
- Echo Valley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Echo Valley is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Valley
- Joliett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Joliett is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joliett
- Keffers
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Keffers is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keffers
- York County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plainville, with the one closest to Plainville listed first.
- Goldsboro
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Goldsboro is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 938 people
- Redland Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Redland Village is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redland Village
- Valley Green
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Valley Green is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Green
- York Haven
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Marsh Run
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Marsh Run is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Run
- New Market
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- New Market is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
- Manchester
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Wolf
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Quaker Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Quaker Village is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Village
- Strinestown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Strinestown is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strinestown
- Starview
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Starview is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starview
- Wrightsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Erney
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Erney is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erney
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Plainville, see our County-by-County Page for Plainville.
Cemeteries Near Plainville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Plainville.
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 Plainville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Plainville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Plainville, with the one closest to Plainville listed first.
- Moyer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Shearer Farm Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Hostetter Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bachman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Siegrist Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hershey Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ginder-Kinsey-Stauffer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain View Mennonite Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- South Annville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Annville Cemetery
- The South Annville Cemetery has also been known as:
- Long's Cemetery
- Evergreen Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Annville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (262 more) ...
- Oberholtzer Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Fairland Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Ober Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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 Plainville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Plainville.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Plainville, with the one closest to Plainville listed first.
- Campbelltown
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Bachmanville
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Bachmanville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bachmanville
- Palmyra
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Lawn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Colebrook
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Colebrook is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colebrook
- Deodate
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Deodate is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deodate
- Fontana
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Fontana is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontana
- Waltonville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Waltonville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltonville
- Bellaire
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Bellaire is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellaire
- Mount Gretna
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Annville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Syner
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Syner is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syner
- Continue List (20 more) ...
- Union Deposit
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Union Deposit is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Deposit
- Aberdeen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Aberdeen is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberdeen
- Beverly
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Beverly is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Plainville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Plainville.
Newspapers Published in Plainville ...
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 70 newspapers that have been published in the area around Plainville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Plainville, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Plainville.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Plainville:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Lebanon County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Berks County
- Cumberland County
- Dauphin County
- Lancaster County
- Luzerne County
- Northumberland County
- Perry County
- Schuylkill County
- York 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Plainville) 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 Plainville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |