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 Valley (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 Valley. 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.
Name Variations for Pleasant Valley ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Pleasant Valley: Pleasant Vly. (or less commonly used: Pleasant Vally. or Pleasant Vlly.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Pleasant Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Pleasant Valley.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 northeast 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 north.
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 north 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 Valley is located in Westmoreland 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 Westmoreland County: Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Indiana & Somerset.
Below are the counties that are near Pleasant Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pleasant Valley:
- Westmoreland County (The home county of Pleasant Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Claridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Manor
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Manor is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,322 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manor <1>
- Harrison City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Murrysville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Export
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Shafton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Shafton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shafton
- Westmoreland City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Westmoreland City is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmoreland City
- Penn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Penn is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
- Irwin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,716 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwin <1>
- Larimer
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Larimer is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larimer
- North Irwin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- North Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Adamsburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Adamsburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
- Jeannette
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Pitcairn
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Wall
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Wall is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
- Monroeville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Garden City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Garden City is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- East McKeesport
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- North Versailles
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- White Oak
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wilmerding
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Chalfant
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Chalfant is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalfant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 765 people
- East Pittsburgh
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- North Braddock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- North Braddock is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Braddock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,635 people
- Riverton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Riverton is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
- Turtle Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Edmon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- Apollo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- North Apollo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Orchard Hills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- Leechburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Spring Church
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Olivet
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Olivet is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Freeport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Aladdin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
- Neale
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Neale is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
- Cochrans Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Cochrans Mills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mills
- McVille
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- McVille is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
- Tunnelville ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Tunnelville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelville
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Monroe
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Monroe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Ekastown
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Ekastown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
- Leasureville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Leasureville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leasureville
- Saxonburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Valencia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dennys Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Dennys Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennys Mills
- Frazier Mill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Frazier Mill is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Mill
- Glade Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Glade Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
- Mars
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Seven Fields
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Seven Fields is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Fields
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,740 people
- Great Belt
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Great Belt is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Belt
- Fox Run
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fox Run is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Run
- Myoma
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Myoma is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myoma
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Banning
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Banning is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Fuller
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Fuller is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Whitsett
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Whitsett is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
- Laurelville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Laurelville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
- Arnold City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Arnold City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold City
- Lynnwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lynnwood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood
- Everson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Everson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
- Lynn
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Lynn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Perryopolis
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Bear Rocks
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
- Belle Vernon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Brownstown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Brownstown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
- Fairhope
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Fairhope is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhope
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- White
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Bow
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Clarksburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Blairsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Saltsburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- West Lebanon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- West Lebanon is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
- Jacksonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Black Lick
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Black Lick is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lick
- Aultman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Aultman is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aultman
- Parkwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Parkwood is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Josephine
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Josephine is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephine
- Palmertown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Smathers
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Smathers is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smathers
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Black Diamond
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Black Diamond is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
- Donora
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ellsworth
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ellsworth is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Gastonville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Gastonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gastonville
- Monongahela
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- New Eagle
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Riverview
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Riverview is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Finleyville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Baidland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Baidland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baidland
- Charleroi
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- North Charleroi
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- North Charleroi is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Charleroi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,258 people
- Dunlevy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Roscoe
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Roscoe is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 791 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pleasant Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Pleasant Valley.
Cemeteries Near Pleasant Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pleasant Valley.
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 Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pleasant Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Denmark Manor Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Immaculate Conception Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Union Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Cemetery
- The Union Cemetery has also been known as:
- Irwin Union Cemetery
- St. Michael Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- St. Barbaras Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Grandview Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Old Brush Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Brush Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Creek Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Brush Creek Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Adamsburg.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44464 <2>
- Jeannette Memorial Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Greek Orthodox Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greek Orthodox Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Greek Orthodox Cemetery is located outside and to the northeast of Jeannette.
- The Greek Orthodox Cemetery has also been known as:
- Greek Cemetery
- Russian Orthodox Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44967 <2>
- Sacred Heart Cemetery (Old)
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Penn Lincoln Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (416 more) ...
- Pennsylvania Lincoln Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Sacred Heart Cemetery (New)
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Fairview Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
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>
While we didn't find Pleasant Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pleasant Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Oakville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Oakville is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Harrison City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Claridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Ardara
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ardara is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardara
- Irwin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,716 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwin <1>
- Shafton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Shafton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shafton
- Murrysville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Boquet
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Boquet is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boquet
- Circleville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Circleville is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Circleville
- Adamsburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Adamsburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
- Jeannette
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Stewartsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Stewartsville is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartsville
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Grapeville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Grapeville is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapeville
- Delmont
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Wall
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Wall is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pleasant Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pleasant Valley.
Newspapers Published in Pleasant Valley ...
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 Pleasant Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pleasant Valley, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pleasant Valley.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Pleasant Valley:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Westmoreland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Armstrong County
- Butler County
- Fayette County
- Indiana County
- Washington 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> | 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 Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |