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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 Rowena (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 Rowena. 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.

Rowena is located in Somerset 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 Somerset County: Allegany (MD), Garrett (MD), Bedford, Cambria, Fayette & Westmoreland.

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

  • Somerset County     (The home county of Rowena)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rowena, with the one closest to Rowena listed first.
    • Kantner
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Kantner is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kantner
    • Stoystown
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Hooversville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Hooversville is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooversville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 589 people
    • Forward
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Forward is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forward
    • Blough
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Blough is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blough
    • Mostoller
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Mostoller is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mostoller
    • Buckstown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Buckstown is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckstown
    • Coleman
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Coleman is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
    • Friedens
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Central City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Benson
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Benson is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
    • Hollsopple
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Indian Lake
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Indian Lake is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rowena, with the one closest to Rowena listed first.
    • Kegg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Kegg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
    • New Paris
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Schellsburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Pleasantville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Pleasantville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
    • Pavia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Pavia is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavia
    • Manns Choice
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Osterburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Wolfsburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Wolfsburg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfsburg
    • Saint Clairsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Saint Clairsville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clairsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
    • Hyndman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bedford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Cliffs ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Cliffs is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffs
    • Yount
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Yount is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yount
  • Blair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rowena, with the one closest to Rowena listed first.
    • Blue Knob
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Blue Knob is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Knob
    • Cotton Town
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Cotton Town is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Town
    • Claysburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Puzzletown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Puzzletown is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puzzletown
  • Cambria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rowena, with the one closest to Rowena listed first.
    • Ingleside
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Ingleside is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
    • Scalp Level
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Scalp Level is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalp Level
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 691 people
    • Belmont
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Belmont is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
    • Ferndale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Elim
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Elim is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elim
    • Geistown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Geistown is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geistown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,242 people
    • Lorain
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Lorain is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 680 people
    • Daisytown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Daisytown is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisytown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 290 people
    • Dale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Dale is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,110 people
    • Southmont
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Southmont is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southmont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,048 people
    • Westmont
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Westmont is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,625 people
    • Brownstown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Conemaugh
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Conemaugh is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conemaugh
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rowena, with the one closest to Rowena listed first.
    • Seven Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Champion
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Indian Head
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Indian Head is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
    • White
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • White is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
    • Bear Rocks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
    • Laurelville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Laurelville is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
  • Indiana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rowena, with the one closest to Rowena listed first.
    • Robinson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Robinson is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
    • Armagh
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Dilltown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Wehrum
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Wehrum is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wehrum
    • Rexis
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Rexis is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rexis
    • Claghorn ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Claghorn is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claghorn
    • Heshbon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Heshbon is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heshbon
    • Palmertown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Littletown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Littletown is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littletown
    • Black Lick
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Black Lick is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lick
    • Blairsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Josephine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Josephine is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephine
    • Coral
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Westmoreland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rowena, with the one closest to Rowena listed first.
    • Laughlintown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Laurel Mountain
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Laurel Mountain is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Mountain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
      • Laurel Mountain has also been known as:
      • Laurel Mountain Park
    • Oak Grove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Oak Grove is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Rector
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Ligonier
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Robb
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Robb is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robb
    • New Florence
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • West Fairfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • West Fairfield is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fairfield
    • Seward
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Seward is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seward
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 458 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seward <1>
    • Darlington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Darlington is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
    • Stahlstown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Bolivar
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Donegal
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Allegany County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rowena, with the one closest to Rowena listed first.
    • Ellerslie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Ellerslie is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
    • Barrelville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
    • Mount Savage
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Corriganville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Corriganville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
    • Mount Savage Junction
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Mount Savage Junction is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Savage Junction

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

Cemeteries Near Rowena ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rowena.

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

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

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

  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Custer Community Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer Community Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Custer Community Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Hollsopple.
    • The Custer Community Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Custer Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44661 <2>
  • Friedens Luthern Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friedens Luthern Church Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Friedens Luthern Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Friedens.
    • The Friedens Luthern Church Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Friedens Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2207909 <2>
  • St. Stanislaus Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Jenners Crossroads Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Garden of Memories Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Schmucker Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Mispah Lutheran Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mispah Lutheran Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mispah Lutheran Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the west of Shanksville.
    • The Mispah Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Mispah Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2188400 <2>
  • Walker Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Old Calvary Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (159 more) ...
    • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Friedline Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Lichty Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)

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 Rowena in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rowena.

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

  • Stoystown
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Hooversville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Hooversville is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooversville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 589 people
  • Mostoller
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Mostoller is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mostoller
  • Lambertsville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Lambertsville is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambertsville
  • Forward
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Forward is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forward
  • Buckstown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Buckstown is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckstown
  • Friedens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Coleman
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Coleman is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
  • Hillsboro
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hillsboro is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
  • Reitz
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Reitz is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reitz
  • Hollsopple
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Gideon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Gideon is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gideon
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Shanksville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Davidsville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jennerstown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Rowena ...

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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rowena.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rowena, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rowena.

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 helpful 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 Rowena:

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rowena) 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 Rowena, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.