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 Rankins Corners (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 Rankins Corners. 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 Rankins Corners ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Rankins Corners: Rankins Cors.
- While the name of this community is Rankins Corners, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Rankins Corners may originally have been Rakin's Corners.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Rankins Corners might be written as Rakin Corners.
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 northwest 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 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.
Rankins Corners 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 Rankins Corners. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rankins Corners:
- Westmoreland County (The home county of Rankins Corners)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rankins Corners, with the one closest to Rankins Corners listed first.
- Webster
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Webster is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Smithton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- West Newton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- North Belle Vernon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- North Belle Vernon is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Belle Vernon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,842 people
- Monessen
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Sutersville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Gibsonton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
- Blackburn ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Blackburn is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Wyano
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Wyano is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyano
- Shaner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Shaner is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaner
- Yukon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Herminie
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Madison
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rankins Corners, with the one closest to Rankins Corners listed first.
- Sunny Side
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Buena Vista
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Elizabeth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- West Elizabeth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Boston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Lincoln
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Lincoln is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013 people
- Clairton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Versailles
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Versailles is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Versailles
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,452 people
- Jefferson Hills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson Hills is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,136 people
- Jefferson Hills has also been known as:
- Jefferson
- Mendelssohn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mendelssohn is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendelssohn
- Glassport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Coal Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Coal Valley is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
- Cochrans Mill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cochrans Mill is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mill
- Armstrong County
- Edmon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rankins Corners, with the one closest to Rankins Corners listed first.
- Arnold City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Arnold City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold City
- Fairhope
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Fairhope is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhope
- Belle Vernon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lynnwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lynnwood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood
- Brownstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Brownstown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
- Fayette City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Fayette City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
- Banning
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Banning is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Whitsett
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Whitsett is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
- Redstone
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Redstone is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
- Fuller
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fuller is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Lynn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lynn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Perryopolis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kenneth
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Kenneth is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenneth
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rankins Corners, with the one closest to Rankins Corners listed first.
- Clarksville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Rices Landing
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Stringtown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Stringtown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Chartiers
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Chartiers is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
- Nemacolin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Nemacolin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
- Carmichaels
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Jefferson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Fairdale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Fairdale is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Ceylon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Ceylon is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Khedive
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Khedive is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
- Lippincott
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lippincott is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lippincott
- Fordyce
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fordyce is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordyce
- Indiana County
- White
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rankins Corners, with the one closest to Rankins Corners listed first.
- Donora
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Black Diamond
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Black Diamond is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
- Charleroi
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Dunlevy
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Roscoe
(5 miles [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
- Twilight
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Twilight is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilight
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- North Charleroi
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- North Charleroi is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Charleroi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,258 people
- Riverview
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Riverview is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Allenport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Long Branch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Long Branch is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Population from the 2020 Census: 431 people
- Speers
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Speers is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,061 people
- Stockdale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Monongahela
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rankins Corners, see our County-by-County Page for Rankins Corners.
Cemeteries Near Rankins Corners ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rankins Corners.
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 Rankins Corners - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rankins Corners covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rankins Corners, with the one closest to Rankins Corners listed first.
- Gilmore Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Gilmore Cemetery is located outside and to the north of Donora.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44920 <3>
- Belle Vernon Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- East Salem Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- West Newton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Weaver & Waddell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- St. Domanick Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Grandview Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Holy Name Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Hyacinth Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gibson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (444 more) ...
- Mt. Auburn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Auburn Cemetery
- The Mt. Auburn Cemetery has also been known as:
- Fayette City Cemetery
- St. Timothys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Ohar Sholom Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<4>
While we didn't find Rankins Corners in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rankins Corners.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rankins Corners, with the one closest to Rankins Corners listed first.
- Port Royal
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Port Royal is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Royal
- Webster
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Webster is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Belle Vernon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Smithton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Fitz Henry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Fitz Henry is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitz Henry
- West Newton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Gibsonton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
- Fayette City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Fayette City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
- Banning
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Banning is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Jacobs Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jacobs Creek is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacobs Creek
- Sutersville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Sunny Side
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Black Diamond
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Black Diamond is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
- Charleroi
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Roscoe
(5 miles [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
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rankins Corners. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rankins Corners.
Newspapers Published in Rankins Corners ...
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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rankins Corners.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rankins Corners, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rankins Corners.
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 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 Rankins Corners:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Westmoreland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Armstrong County
- Fayette County
- Greene County
- Indiana County
- Washington County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Rankins Corners, 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- Rankins Corners) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |