RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Somerset County >> Pleasant Union >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Pleasant Union (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 Pleasant Union. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Pleasant Union 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 Pleasant Union. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pleasant Union:

  • Somerset County     (The home county of Pleasant Union)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Union, with the one closest to Pleasant Union listed first.
    • Wellersburg
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Wellersburg is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellersburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
    • Callimont
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Callimont is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callimont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
    • Wittenberg
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Wittenberg is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittenberg
    • Fairhope
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Johnsburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Glade City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Glade City is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade City
    • Hays Mill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Hays Mill is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays Mill
    • Meyersdale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • West Meyersdale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • West Meyersdale is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Meyersdale
    • Pine Hill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Pine Hill is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
    • Boynton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Boynton is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
    • Berlin
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Coal Run
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Coal Run is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Run
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Union, with the one closest to Pleasant Union listed first.
    • Cooks Mills
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
    • Stringtown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Stringtown is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Hyndman
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Beans Cove
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Beans Cove is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Cove
    • Kegg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Kegg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
    • Rainsburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Rainsburg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
    • Manns Choice
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Schellsburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Charlesville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Charlesville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesville
    • Bedford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • New Paris
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Purcell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Purcell is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purcell
    • Ott Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Ott Town is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ott Town
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Union, with the one closest to Pleasant Union listed first.
    • Seven Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Markleysburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Allegany County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Union, with the one closest to Pleasant Union listed first.
    • Barrelville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
    • Mount Savage
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Ellerslie
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Ellerslie is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
    • Zihlman
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Zihlman is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zihlman
    • Corriganville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Corriganville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
    • Eckhart Mines
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Eckhart Mines is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckhart Mines
    • Mount Savage Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Savage Junction is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Savage Junction
    • Clarysville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Clarysville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarysville
    • Frostburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • La Vale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Loarville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Loarville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loarville
    • Cumberland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Midlothian
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Midlothian is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midlothian
  • Garrett County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Union, with the one closest to Pleasant Union listed first.
    • Avilton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Avilton is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
    • Grantsville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Bittinger
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bloomington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Bloomington is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
    • Accident
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Swanton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • McHenry
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Friendsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Kitzmiller
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Washington County (MD)
    • Pearre
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Pearre is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearre
  • Hampshire County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Union, with the one closest to Pleasant Union listed first.
    • Donaldson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Donaldson is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
    • Springfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Ritters
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Ritters is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritters
    • Okonoko
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Okonoko is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okonoko
    • Wapocomo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Wapocomo is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapocomo
    • Points
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Points is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Points
    • Vance
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Vance is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
    • Three Churches
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Three Churches is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Churches
    • Higginsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Higginsville is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginsville
    • Romney
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Romney is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,680 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Romney <1>
  • Mineral County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Union, with the one closest to Pleasant Union listed first.
    • Ridgeley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Carpendale
      (10 miles [16.1 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
    • Wiley Ford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Short Gap
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Short Gap is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Gap
    • Fort Ashby
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Piedmont
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Keyser
      (23 miles [37 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
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Windom is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
    • Headsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Headsville is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
    • New Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Shaw
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Shaw is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
    • Burlington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Elk Garden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Morgan County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Union, with the one closest to Pleasant Union listed first.
    • Doe Gully
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Doe Gully is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Gully
    • Orleans Cross Roads
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Orleans Cross Roads is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans Cross Roads
    • Hansrote
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Hansrote is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansrote
    • Magnolia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Magnolia is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
    • Paw Paw
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Pleasant Union ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pleasant Union.

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 Pleasant Union - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Old Coney Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Finzel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Porter Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Lebanon Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Rose Meadow Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Restlawn Memorial Gardens
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Emmanuel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Percy Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Frostburg Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • St.s Peter & Paul Catholic Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St.s Peter & Paul Catholic Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St.s Peter & Paul Catholic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Cumberland (MD).
    • The St.s Peter & Paul Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #81612 <3>
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (212 more) ...
    • Reformed Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Union Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Mt. Zion Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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.<5>

While we didn't find Pleasant Union in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pleasant Union.

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

  • Wellersburg
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Wellersburg is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellersburg
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
  • Philson
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Philson is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philson
  • Wittenberg
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Wittenberg is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittenberg
  • Pocahontas
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Pocahontas is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
  • Mount Savage
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Barrelville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
  • Glencoe
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Glencoe is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glencoe
  • Morantown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Morantown is located in Allegany County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morantown
  • Ellerslie
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Ellerslie is located in Allegany County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
  • Foley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Foley is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foley
  • Sand Patch
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Sand Patch is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Patch
  • Corriganville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Corriganville is located in Allegany County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Kreigbaum
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Kreigbaum is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kreigbaum
    • State Line
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • State Line is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
    • Cooks Mills
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills

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

Newspapers Published in Pleasant Union ...

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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pleasant Union.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pleasant Union, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pleasant Union.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Pleasant Union:

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