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 Rainsburg (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 Rainsburg. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.
Rainsburg 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 Rainsburg. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rainsburg:
- Bedford County (The home county of Rainsburg)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainsburg, with the one closest to Rainsburg listed first.
- Charlesville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Charlesville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesville
- Beans Cove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Beans Cove is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Cove
- Bedford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Ott Town
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ott Town is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ott Town
- Manns Choice
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Cliffs ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Cliffs is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffs
- Purcell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Purcell is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purcell
- Everett
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Robinsonville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Robinsonville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinsonville
- Penn Wood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Penn Wood is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn Wood
- Mount Dallas
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Dallas is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Dallas
- Hyndman
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Blair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainsburg, with the one closest to Rainsburg listed first.
- Cotton Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Cotton Town is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Town
- Claysburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Cambria County
- Dunlo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Dunlo is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlo
- Franklin County
- Cove Gap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Cove Gap is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Gap
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainsburg, with the one closest to Rainsburg listed first.
- Emmaville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Emmaville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmaville
- Crystal Spring
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Crystal Spring is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Spring
- Dott
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Dott is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dott
- Akersville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Akersville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akersville
- Covalt
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Covalt is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covalt
- Needmore
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Sipes Mill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Sipes Mill is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipes Mill
- Valley-Hi
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Valley-Hi is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley-Hi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
- Warfordsburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Ridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Ridge is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
- Wells Tannery
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Wells Tannery is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Tannery
- Laidig
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Laidig is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laidig
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainsburg, with the one closest to Rainsburg listed first.
- Coalmont
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Coalmont is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Dudley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dudley is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
- Middletown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Middletown is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Broad Top City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- 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
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Robertsdale is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robertsdale
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainsburg, with the one closest to Rainsburg listed first.
- New Baltimore
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- New Baltimore is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Baltimore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 167 people
- Fairhope
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Johnsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Wellersburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wellersburg is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellersburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
- Downey
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Downey is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downey
- Indian Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Indian Lake is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people
- Buckstown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Buckstown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckstown
- Central City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Callimont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Callimont is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callimont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
- Wittenberg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Wittenberg is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittenberg
- Shanksville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Berlin
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Allegany County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainsburg, with the one closest to Rainsburg listed first.
- Flintstone
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Rush
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Rush is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush
- Town Creek ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Town Creek is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Creek
- Ellerslie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ellerslie is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
- Little Orleans
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Corriganville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Corriganville is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
- Mount Savage Junction
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Savage Junction is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Savage Junction
- Green Ridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Green Ridge is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Ridge
- Cumberland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Shanty Town ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Shanty Town is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanty Town
- Barrelville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
- La Vale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Washington County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainsburg, with the one closest to Rainsburg listed first.
- Pearre
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pearre is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearre
- Hancock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hampshire County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainsburg, with the one closest to Rainsburg listed first.
- Okonoko
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Okonoko is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okonoko
- Donaldson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Donaldson is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
- Points
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Points is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Points
- Mineral County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainsburg, with the one closest to Rainsburg listed first.
- Ridgeley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Carpendale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Carpendale is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpendale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 900 people
- Wiley Ford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Short Gap
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Short Gap is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Gap
- Fort Ashby
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Morgan County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainsburg, with the one closest to Rainsburg listed first.
- Orleans Cross Roads
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Orleans Cross Roads is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans Cross Roads
- Doe Gully
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Doe Gully is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Gully
- Woodmont
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Woodmont is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodmont
- Hansrote
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hansrote is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansrote
- Hancock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hancock is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
- Magnolia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Magnolia is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Bath
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bath is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
- Population from the 2020 Census: 587 people
- Berkeley Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Berryville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Berryville is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryville
- Paw Paw
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Sleepy Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sleepy Creek is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleepy Creek
- Stotlers Crossroads
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stotlers Crossroads is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stotlers Crossroads
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rainsburg, see our County-by-County Page for Rainsburg.
Cemeteries Near Rainsburg ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rainsburg.
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 Rainsburg - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rainsburg covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rainsburg, with the one closest to Rainsburg listed first.
- Fellowship & Union Cemeteries
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ruby Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Indian Springs Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Prosperity Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Oakdale Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Growden Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Browning Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Lashley Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Rocky Gap Veterans Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Robinette Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- McKees Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (154 more) ...
- Everett Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hershberger Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bedford Memorial Gardens
(12 miles [19.3 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 Rainsburg had a population of 247 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Rainsburg had a population of 128 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rainsburg, with the one closest to Rainsburg listed first.
- Chaneysville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Chaneysville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaneysville
- Charlesville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Charlesville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesville
- Burning Bush
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Burning Bush is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burning Bush
- Patience
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Patience is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patience
- Beans Cove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Beans Cove is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Cove
- Clearville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Ott Town
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ott Town is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ott Town
- Bedford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Elbinsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Elbinsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbinsville
- Manns Choice
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Buffalo Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Buffalo Mills is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Mills
- Bard
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Bard is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bard
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Madley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Madley is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madley
- Purcell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Purcell is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purcell
- Ashcom
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ashcom is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcom
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rainsburg. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rainsburg.
Newspapers Published in Rainsburg ...
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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rainsburg.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rainsburg, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rainsburg.
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 Rainsburg:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Bedford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blair County
- Cambria County
- Franklin County
- Fulton County
- Huntingdon County
- Somerset County
- Allegany County
- Washington County
- Hampshire County
- Mineral County
- Morgan 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 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> | 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 Rainsburg, 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- Rainsburg) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |