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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 Point (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 Point. 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 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.

Point is located in Bedford 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 Bedford County: Allegany (MD), Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon & Somerset.

Below are the counties that are near Point. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Point:

  • Bedford County     (The home county of Point)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Point, with the one closest to Point listed first.
    • New Paris
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Schellsburg
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Wolfsburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Wolfsburg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfsburg
    • Pleasantville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Pleasantville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
    • Yount
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Yount is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yount
    • Saint Clairsville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Saint Clairsville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clairsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
    • Manns Choice
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Osterburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cliffs ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Cliffs is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffs
    • Bedford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Penn Wood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Penn Wood is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn Wood
    • Kegg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Kegg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
  • Blair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Point, with the one closest to Point listed first.
    • Cotton Town
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Cotton Town is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Town
    • Claysburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Blue Knob
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Blue Knob is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Knob
    • Roaring Spring
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Puzzletown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Puzzletown is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puzzletown
    • East Sharpsburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • East Sharpsburg is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sharpsburg
    • Martinsburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Brooks Mill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Brooks Mill is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks Mill
    • Newry
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Clover Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Clover Creek is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Creek
    • Duncansville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Hollidaysburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Cambria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Point, with the one closest to Point listed first.
    • Dunlo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Dunlo is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlo
    • Beaverdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Beaverdale is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverdale
    • Salix
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Salix is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salix
    • Scalp Level
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Scalp Level is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalp Level
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 691 people
    • Puritan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Puritan is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puritan
    • Ingleside
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Ingleside is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
    • Sidman
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Spring Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Spring Hill is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
    • Geistown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Geistown is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geistown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,242 people
    • Saint Michael
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Saint Michael is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Michael
    • Belmont
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Belmont is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
    • Lorain
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Lorain is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 680 people
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Point, with the one closest to Point listed first.
    • Valley-Hi
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Valley-Hi is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley-Hi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
    • Crystal Spring
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Crystal Spring is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Spring
    • Emmaville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Emmaville is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmaville
    • Akersville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Akersville is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akersville
    • Wells Tannery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Wells Tannery is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Tannery
    • Sipes Mill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Sipes Mill is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipes Mill
    • Laidig
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Laidig is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laidig
    • Pleasant Ridge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Pleasant Ridge is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
    • Waterfall
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Dott
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Dott is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dott
    • Needmore
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Covalt
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Covalt is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covalt
  • Huntingdon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Point, with the one closest to Point listed first.
    • Coalmont
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Coalmont is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalmont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
    • Middletown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Middletown is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
    • Dudley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Dudley is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
    • Broad Top City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Broad Top City is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broad Top City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 443 people
    • Robertsdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Robertsdale is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robertsdale
    • Entriken
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Salter
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Salter is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salter
    • Cooks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Cooks is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks
    • Joller ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Joller is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joller
    • Kimmel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Kimmel is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimmel
    • Rocky Ridge ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Rocky Ridge is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
    • Marklesburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Marklesburg is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marklesburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 194 people
  • Somerset County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Point, with the one closest to Point listed first.
    • Ogletown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Ogletown is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogletown
    • Central City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • New Baltimore
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • New Baltimore is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Baltimore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 167 people
    • Buckstown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Buckstown is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckstown
    • Forward
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Forward is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forward
    • Indian Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Indian Lake is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people
    • Windber
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Downey
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Downey is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downey
    • Shanksville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Blough
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Blough is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blough
    • Hooversville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Hooversville is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooversville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 589 people
    • Kantner
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Kantner is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kantner
  • Allegany County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Point, with the one closest to Point listed first.
    • Flintstone
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Ellerslie
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Ellerslie is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
    • Corriganville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Corriganville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
    • Mount Savage Junction
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Mount Savage Junction is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Savage Junction
    • Rush
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Rush is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush
    • Barrelville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
    • Cumberland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Shanty Town ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Shanty Town is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanty Town
    • Town Creek ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Town Creek is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Creek
    • Mount Savage
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Point ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Point.

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

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

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

  • Fishertown Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Schellsburg Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schellsburg Cemetery
    • The Schellsburg Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Chestnut Ridge Cemetery
    • Old Log Church Cemetery
    • Union Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1964953 <2>
  • Bedford Memorial Gardens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Friends Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Old Union Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Hershberger Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Ritchey Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Burger Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Hetrick Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Camp Run Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Indian Springs Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (191 more) ...
    • Everett Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Potter Creek Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Stiefler Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Point had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Springhope
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Springhope is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springhope
  • New Paris
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Schellsburg
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Napier
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Napier is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napier
  • Fishertown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Wolfsburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Wolfsburg is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfsburg
  • Cessna
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Cessna is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cessna
  • Belden
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Belden is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belden
  • Spring Meadow
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Spring Meadow is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Meadow
  • Helixville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Helixville is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helixville
  • Manns Choice
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Imlertown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Imlertown is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imlertown
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Saint Clairsville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Saint Clairsville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clairsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
    • New Buena Vista
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • New Buena Vista is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Buena Vista
    • Cliffs ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Cliffs is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffs

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

Newspapers Published in Point ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Point.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Point, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Point.

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 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 Point:

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 Point, 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- Point) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.