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 Ridgway (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 Ridgway. 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 and doctors 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.
Ridgway is located in Elk County and is the County Seat.
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 Elk County: Cameron, Clearfield, Forest, Jefferson, McKean & Warren.
Below are the counties that are near Ridgway. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ridgway:
- Elk County (The home county of Ridgway)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgway, with the one closest to Ridgway listed first.
- Whistletown
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Whistletown is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistletown
- Johnsonburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Johnsonburg is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,264 people
- Saint Marys
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Horton City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Horton City is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton City
- Dagus Mines
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Dagus Mines is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dagus Mines
- Kylers Corners
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Kylers Corners is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kylers Corners
- Lake City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Challenge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Challenge is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Challenge
- Shawmut
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Shawmut is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawmut
- Wilcox
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Hallton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Hallton is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallton
- Brockport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Cameron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgway, with the one closest to Ridgway listed first.
- Beechwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Beechwood is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood
- Weber City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Weber City is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weber City
- Emporium
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Cameron
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Cameron is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Mix Run
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Mix Run is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mix Run
- Huntley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Huntley is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
- Clarion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgway, with the one closest to Ridgway listed first.
- Cooksburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Crown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Crown is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown
- Leeper
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Clearfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgway, with the one closest to Ridgway listed first.
- Tyler
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tyler is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyler
- Treasure Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Treasure Lake is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Treasure Lake
- Winterburn
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Winterburn is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winterburn
- DuBois
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Sandy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Sandy is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
- Rockton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Rockton is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockton
- Luthersburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Stanley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Stanley is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
- Helvetia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Helvetia is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helvetia
- Laborde
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Laborde is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laborde
- Troutville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Troutville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troutville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Mount Joy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Joy is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
- Forest County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgway, with the one closest to Ridgway listed first.
- Iron City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Iron City is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Sheffield Junction
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sheffield Junction is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield Junction
- Marienville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Marienville is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marienville
- Clarington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Redclyffe
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Redclyffe is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redclyffe
- Roses
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Roses is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roses
- Gilfoyle
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Gilfoyle is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilfoyle
- Balltown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Balltown is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balltown
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgway, with the one closest to Ridgway listed first.
- Brockway
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Crenshaw
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Crenshaw is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crenshaw
- Schoffner Corner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Schoffner Corner is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schoffner Corner
- Munderf
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Munderf is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munderf
- Allens Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Allens Mills is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Mills
- Warsaw
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Warsaw is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warsaw
- Falls Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Red Mill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Red Mill is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mill
- Hazen
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hazen is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazen
- Pancoast
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Pancoast is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pancoast
- Sandy Valley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Sandy Valley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Valley
- Sigel
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- McKean County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgway, with the one closest to Ridgway listed first.
- Coontown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Coontown is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coontown
- Kane
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Hutchins
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Hutchins is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchins
- Kanesholm
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Kanesholm is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanesholm
- Freeman
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Freeman is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Mount Jewett
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Clermont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Clermont is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clermont
- Tallyho
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Tallyho is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallyho
- Westline
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Timbuck
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Timbuck is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timbuck
- Big Shanty
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Big Shanty is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Shanty
- Crosby
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Crosby is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crosby
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgway, with the one closest to Ridgway listed first.
- Donaldson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Donaldson is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
- Henrys Mills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Henrys Mills is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrys Mills
- Hoover
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hoover is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover
- Barnes
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Barnes is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes
- Roystone
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Roystone is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roystone
- Sheffield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Saybrook
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Saybrook is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saybrook
- Hermit Spring
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hermit Spring is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermit Spring
- Clarendon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ridgway, see our County-by-County Page for Ridgway.
Cemeteries Near Ridgway ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ridgway.
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 Ridgway - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ridgway covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ridgway, with the one closest to Ridgway listed first.
- St. Leos Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Thayer Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Oakmont Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Ott Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Laurel Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. John's Lutheran Cemetery is located outside and to the north of Johnsonburg.
- The St. John's Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. John's Cemetery
- Wardvale Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2159321 <2>
- Holy Rosary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Rosary Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Holy Rosary Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Johnsonburg.
- The Holy Rosary Cemetery has also been known as:
- Wardvale Catholic Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1968966 <2>
- Wardvale United Methodist Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wardvale United Methodist Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Wardvale United Methodist Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Johnsonburg.
- The Wardvale United Methodist Cemetery has also been known as:
- Johnsonburg United Methodist Cemetery
- Rolfe United Methodist Cemetery
- Wardville Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2159320 <2>
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Maxwell Run Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Continue List (74 more) ...
- St. Tobias Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Brockport Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Highland Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
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 Ridgway had a population of 1,903 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Ridgway had a population of 3,708 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ridgway, with the one closest to Ridgway listed first.
- Whistletown
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Whistletown is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistletown
- Daguscahonda
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Daguscahonda is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daguscahonda
- Johnsonburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Johnsonburg is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,264 people
- Rolfe
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Rolfe is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolfe
- Portland Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Portland Mills is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland Mills
- Carman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Carman is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carman
- Arroyo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Arroyo is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arroyo
- Brandy Camp
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Brandy Camp is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy Camp
- Kylers Corners
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Kylers Corners is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kylers Corners
- Dagus Mines
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Dagus Mines is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dagus Mines
- Kersey
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Marys
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Challenge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Challenge is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Challenge
- Ketner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ketner is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ketner
- Cartwright
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Cartwright is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartwright
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ridgway. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ridgway.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ridgway ...
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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ridgway.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ridgway. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ridgway and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ridgway.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4> of Ridgway.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Ridgway:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Elk County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cameron County
- Clarion County
- Clearfield County
- Forest County
- Jefferson County
- McKean County
- Warren 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> | 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 Ridgway, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Ridgway) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |