RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Somerset County >> Pocahontas >> 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 Pocahontas (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 Pocahontas. 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.

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

  • Somerset County     (The home county of Pocahontas)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pocahontas, with the one closest to Pocahontas listed first.
    • Wittenberg
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Wittenberg is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittenberg
    • Callimont
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Callimont is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callimont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
    • Wellersburg
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Wellersburg is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellersburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
    • Glade City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Glade City is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade City
    • Meyersdale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • West Meyersdale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • West Meyersdale is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Meyersdale
    • Boynton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Boynton is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
    • Salisbury
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Hays Mill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Hays Mill is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays Mill
    • Summit Mills
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Summit Mills is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Mills
    • Coal Run
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Coal Run is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Run
    • West Salisbury
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • West Salisbury is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salisbury
    • Garrett
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pocahontas, with the one closest to Pocahontas listed first.
    • Stringtown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Stringtown is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Cooks Mills
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
    • Hyndman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Beans Cove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Beans Cove is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Cove
    • Kegg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Kegg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
    • Rainsburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Rainsburg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
    • Manns Choice
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Schellsburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Charlesville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Charlesville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesville
    • New Paris
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bedford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Wolfsburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Wolfsburg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfsburg
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pocahontas, with the one closest to Pocahontas listed first.
    • Seven Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Markleysburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Ohiopyle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Indian Head
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Indian Head is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
  • Allegany County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pocahontas, with the one closest to Pocahontas listed first.
    • Mount Savage
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Zihlman
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Zihlman is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zihlman
    • Frostburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Barrelville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
    • Eckhart Mines
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Eckhart Mines is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckhart Mines
    • Borden Shaft
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Borden Shaft is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Shaft
    • Midlothian
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Midlothian is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midlothian
    • Clarysville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Clarysville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarysville
    • Loarville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Loarville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loarville
    • Corriganville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Corriganville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
    • Ellerslie
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Ellerslie is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
    • Klondike
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Klondike is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
    • La Vale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Garrett County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pocahontas, with the one closest to Pocahontas listed first.
    • Avilton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Avilton is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
    • Grantsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Bittinger
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bloomington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Bloomington is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
    • Accident
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • McHenry
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Swanton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Friendsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Altamont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Altamont is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
    • Kitzmiller
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Deer Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Hampshire County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pocahontas, with the one closest to Pocahontas listed first.
    • Donaldson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Donaldson is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
    • Springfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Ritters
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Ritters is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritters
    • Wapocomo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Wapocomo is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapocomo
    • Okonoko
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Okonoko is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okonoko
    • Points
      (27 miles [43.5 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 southeast)
      • Vance is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
    • Three Churches
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Three Churches is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Churches
    • Junction
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Junction is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
    • 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>
    • Higginsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Higginsville is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginsville
  • Mineral County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pocahontas, with the one closest to Pocahontas listed first.
    • Carpendale
      (11 miles [17.7 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
    • Ridgeley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Wiley Ford
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Short Gap
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Short Gap is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Gap
    • Piedmont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Fort Ashby
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Keyser
      (20 miles [32.2 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
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Windom is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
    • Headsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Headsville is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
    • Shaw
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Shaw is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
    • New Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Elk Garden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Burlington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Morgan County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pocahontas, with the one closest to Pocahontas listed first.
    • Magnolia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Magnolia is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
    • Paw Paw
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Pocahontas ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pocahontas.

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

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

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

  • Finzel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Emmanuel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Blocher Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Percy Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Old Coney Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Union Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Merrbach Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Frostburg Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Rose Meadow Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Reformed Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (234 more) ...
    • St. Anns Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • St. Pauls Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Loar Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Pocahontas had a population of 98 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Wittenberg
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Wittenberg is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittenberg
  • Sand Patch
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Sand Patch is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Patch
  • Morantown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Morantown is located in Allegany County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morantown
  • Mount Savage
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Wellersburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Wellersburg is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellersburg
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
  • Frostburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Eckhart Mines
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Eckhart Mines is located in Allegany County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckhart Mines
  • Barrelville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
  • Philson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Philson is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philson
  • Meyersdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • West Meyersdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • West Meyersdale is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Meyersdale
  • Shaw Mines
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Shaw Mines is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw Mines
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Boynton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Boynton is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
    • Avilton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Avilton is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
    • Borden Shaft
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Borden Shaft is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Shaft

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

Newspapers Published in Pocahontas ...

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 Pocahontas.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pocahontas, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pocahontas.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Pocahontas:

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 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.
<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>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 Pocahontas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Pocahontas) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.