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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 Saco (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 Saco. 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 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.

Saco is located in Lackawanna 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 Lackawanna County: Luzerne, Monroe, Susquehanna, Wayne & Wyoming.

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

  • Lackawanna County     (The home county of Saco)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saco, with the one closest to Saco listed first.
    • Wimmers
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Wimmers is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wimmers
    • Drinker
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Drinker is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drinker
    • Mount Cobb
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Mount Cobb is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cobb
    • Cortez
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Cortez is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cortez
    • Aberdeen
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Aberdeen is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberdeen
    • Elmhurst
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Moscow
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Moscow is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,026 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moscow <1>
    • Jessup
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jessup is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jessup
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,372 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jessup <1>
    • Turnersville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Turnersville is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnersville
    • Archbald
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Olyphant
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Daleville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Carbon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saco, with the one closest to Saco listed first.
    • East Side
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • East Side is located in Carbon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Side
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 301 people
    • Albrightsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Meckesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Meckesville is located in Carbon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meckesville
  • Luzerne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saco, with the one closest to Saco listed first.
    • Langdon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Langdon is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langdon
    • Avoca
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Avoca is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,603 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avoca <1>
    • Houston City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Houston City is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston City
    • Dupont
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Duryea
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Hughestown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Hughestown is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughestown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,356 people
    • Yatesville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Yatesville is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yatesville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
    • Pittston
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • West Pittston
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Laflin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Laflin is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laflin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,435 people
    • Exeter
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Hilldale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Hilldale is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saco, with the one closest to Saco listed first.
    • Mount Pocono
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Tobyhanna
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Locust Lakes Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Locust Lakes Village is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Lakes Village
    • Mountainhome
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Pocono Pines
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Pocono Summit
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Paradise Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Paradise Valley is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Valley
    • Long Pond
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Parkside
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Parkside is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkside
    • Reeders
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Appenzell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Appenzell is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appenzell
    • McMichael
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • McMichael is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMichael
  • Pike County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saco, with the one closest to Saco listed first.
    • Ledgedale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Ledgedale is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledgedale
    • Panther
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Panther is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
    • South Sterling
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • La Anna
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • La Anna is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Anna
    • Paupack
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Tafton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Wilsonville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Wilsonville is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonville
    • Blooming Grove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Blooming Grove is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blooming Grove
    • Kimble
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Kimble is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimble
    • Lords Valley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Rowland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Masthope
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Masthope is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masthope
  • Susquehanna County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saco, with the one closest to Saco listed first.
    • Forest City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Lenoxville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Lenoxville is located in Susquehanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenoxville
    • Royal
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Royal is located in Susquehanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
    • Union Dale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • South Gibson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Burnwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Burnwood is located in Susquehanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwood
    • Hop Bottom
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Ararat
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Ararat is located in Susquehanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ararat
    • Gibson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Gibson is located in Susquehanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
    • Kingsley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jackson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Springville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saco, with the one closest to Saco listed first.
    • Maplewood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Maplewood is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
    • Hollisterville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Hollisterville is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollisterville
    • Tresslarville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Tresslarville is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tresslarville
    • Sterling
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • South Canaan
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • South Canaan is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Canaan
    • Lakeville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Uswick
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Uswick is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uswick
    • Waymart
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Keen
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Keen is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keen
    • Prompton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Prompton is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prompton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
    • Hawley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Honesdale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saco, with the one closest to Saco listed first.
    • Factoryville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Winola
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Nicholson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Osterhout
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Osterhout is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osterhout
    • South Eaton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • South Eaton is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Eaton
    • Dixon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Dixon is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
    • Marcy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Marcy is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcy
    • Vernon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Vernon is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
    • Jenks
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jenks is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenks
    • Mill City ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Mill City is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill City
    • Tunkhannock
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Beaumont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Beaumont is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaumont
  • Sullivan County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saco, with the one closest to Saco listed first.
    • Narrowsburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Tusten
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Tusten is located in Sullivan County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tusten
    • Yulan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Barryville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Cochecton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Cochecton Center
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Saco ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Saco.

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

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

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

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>

While we didn't find Saco in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Saco.

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

  • Wimmers
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Wimmers is located in Lackawanna County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wimmers
  • Drinker
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Drinker is located in Lackawanna County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drinker
  • Mount Cobb
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Mount Cobb is located in Lackawanna County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cobb
  • Hollisterville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Hollisterville is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollisterville
  • Maplewood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Maplewood is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
  • Madisonville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Madisonville is located in Lackawanna County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madisonville
  • Elmhurst
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Moscow
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Moscow is located in Lackawanna County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,026 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moscow <1>
  • Lake Ariel
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Sterling
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Gravity
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Gravity is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravity
  • Varden
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Varden is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varden
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Winton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Winton is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton
    • Nay Aug
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Nay Aug is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nay Aug
    • Daleville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Saco ...

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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Saco.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Saco, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Saco.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Saco:

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 Saco, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Saco) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.