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 Ridgewood (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 Ridgewood. 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 hospitals and 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.
Ridgewood is located in Berks 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 Berks County: Chester, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery & Schuylkill.
Below are the counties that are near Ridgewood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ridgewood:
- Berks County (The home county of Ridgewood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Mount Penn
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Reiffton
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Reiffton is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reiffton
- Millmont
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Millmont is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millmont
- Gibraltar
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Gibraltar is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibraltar
- Flying Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Flying Hills is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flying Hills
- Deerfield Village
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Deerfield Village is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield Village
- Brice Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Brice Village is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brice Village
- Exeter Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Exeter Village is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeter Village
- Lorane
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Lorane is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorane
- Saint Lawrence
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Lawrence is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Lawrence
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,832 people
- Reading
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Freemanville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Freemanville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freemanville
- Kenhorst
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Bucks County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Argus
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Argus is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argus
- Milford Square
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Milford Square is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford Square
- Steinsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Steinsburg is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steinsburg
- Trumbauersville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Zionhill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Zionhill is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zionhill
- Quakertown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Rich Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Rich Hill is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Hill
- Hilltop
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hilltop is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
- Shelly
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Shelly is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelly
- Chester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Elverson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Isabella
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Isabella is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
- Loag
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Loag is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loag
- Knauertown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Knauertown is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knauertown
- Pottstown Landing
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Pottstown Landing is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottstown Landing
- South Pottstown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- South Pottstown is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Pottstown
- Dampman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Dampman is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dampman
- Kenilworth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Kenilworth is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenilworth
- Cupola
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Cupola is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cupola
- Honey Brook
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Suplee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Suplee is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suplee
- Coventryville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Coventryville is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventryville
- Nantmeal Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Nantmeal Village is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nantmeal Village
- Lancaster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Churchtown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Red Run
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Red Run is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Run
- Terre Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Blainsport
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Blainsport is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsport
- Beartown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Beartown is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beartown
- Reamstown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Denver
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Blue Ball
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- East Earl
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Stevens
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Weaverland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Weaverland is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaverland
- Hinkletown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hinkletown is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkletown
- Cocalico
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Cocalico is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cocalico
- Lebanon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Newmanstown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Sheridan
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Sheridan is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Stricklerstown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Stricklerstown is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stricklerstown
- Richland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Schaefferstown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Myerstown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Johnstown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Johnstown is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Prescott
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Prescott is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
- Avon Heights
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Avon Heights is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon Heights
- Greble
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Greble is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greble
- Avon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Avon is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Cornwall
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Miners Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Miners Village is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miners Village
- Lehigh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Alburtis
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hensingersville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hensingersville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hensingersville
- New Smithville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- New Smithville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Smithville
- Hynemansville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hynemansville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hynemansville
- Powder Valley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Powder Valley is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powder Valley
- Wallner ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wallner is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallner
- Weisenberg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Weisenberg is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weisenberg
- Stines Corner
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Stines Corner is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stines Corner
- Ancient Oaks
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Ancient Oaks is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ancient Oaks
- Hosensack
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Hosensack is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hosensack
- Macungie
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Old Zionsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Old Zionsville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Zionsville
- Seipstown
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Seipstown is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seipstown
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Bramcote
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Bramcote is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bramcote
- West Pottsgrove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- West Pottsgrove is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pottsgrove
- Stowe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Halfway House
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Halfway House is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway House
- Pottstown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Gilbertsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Pottsgrove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Pottsgrove is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottsgrove
- Congo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Congo is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congo
- New Hanover
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Sanatoga
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Fagleysville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Fagleysville is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fagleysville
- Anise
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Anise is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anise
- Pleasant Run
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Run is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Run
- Schuylkill County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Port Clinton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Auburn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Deer Lake
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Deer Lake is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 645 people
- Aucheys
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Aucheys is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucheys
- Jefferson
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Summit Station
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Summit Station is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Station
- Rauschs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Rauschs is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rauschs
- Lake Wynonah
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Wynonah is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wynonah
- Landingville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Landingville is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landingville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Moyers
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Moyers is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moyers
- McKeansburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- McKeansburg is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKeansburg
- Rene Mont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Rene Mont is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rene Mont
- Orwigsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ridgewood, see our County-by-County Page for Ridgewood.
Cemeteries Near Ridgewood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ridgewood.
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 Ridgewood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ridgewood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Forest Hills Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Shomre Habrith Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Aulenbach's Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Kesher Zion Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kesher Zion Cemetery
- The Kesher Zion Cemetery has also been known as:
- Kesher Zion Congregation Memorial Grounds
- Kisher Zion Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #348729 <2>
- St. Johns Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- German Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- St. Peters Catholic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- St. Mary's Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bernardine Sisters Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- St. Stephens Memorial Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Continue List (342 more) ...
- Yocums Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Friedens Bible Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friedens Bible Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Friedens Bible Church Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the west of Birdsboro.
- The Friedens Bible Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Friedens Cemetery
- Wicklein Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2343568 <2>
- Schwarzwald Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
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 in 1895, Ridgewood had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Neversink
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Neversink is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neversink
- Seyfert
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Seyfert is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyfert
- Gibraltar
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Gibraltar is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibraltar
- Millmont
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Millmont is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millmont
- Reading
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Grill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Grill is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grill
- Jacksonwald
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jacksonwald is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonwald
- Stony Creek Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Stony Creek Mills is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek Mills
- Shillington
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Angelica
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Angelica is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angelica
- Beckersville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Beckersville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckersville
- Scarlets Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Scarlets Mill is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scarlets Mill
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- South Birdsboro
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- South Birdsboro is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Birdsboro
- Birdsboro
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Baumstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Baumstown is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baumstown
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ridgewood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ridgewood.
Newspapers Published in Ridgewood ...
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 130 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ridgewood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ridgewood, there are papers which were published within 5 miles [8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ridgewood.
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 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 Ridgewood:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Berks County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bucks County
- Chester County
- Lancaster County
- Lebanon County
- Lehigh County
- Montgomery County
- Schuylkill 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> | 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- Ridgewood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Ridgewood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |