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 Sandy Ridge (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 Sandy Ridge. 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 Sandy Ridge ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Sandy Ridge: Sandy Rdg. (or less commonly used: Sandy Rdge. or Sandy Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sandy Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sandy Ridge.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Sandy Ridge is located in Centre 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 Centre County: Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Clinton, Huntingdon, Mifflin & Union.
Below are the counties that are near Sandy Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sandy Ridge:
- Centre County (The home county of Sandy Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Ridge, with the one closest to Sandy Ridge listed first.
- New Town
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- New Town is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Glass City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Glass City is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glass City
- South Philipsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- South Philipsburg is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Philipsburg
- North Philipsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- North Philipsburg is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Philipsburg
- Philipsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Port Matilda
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Casanova
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Casanova is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casanova
- Stormstown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Stormstown is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stormstown
- Marengo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Marengo is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
- Musser
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Musser is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Musser
- Julian
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Scotia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Scotia is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotia
- Blair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Ridge, with the one closest to Sandy Ridge listed first.
- Tyrone
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Tyrone Forge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Tyrone Forge is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone Forge
- Grazierville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Grazierville is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grazierville
- Tipton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Bellwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Culp
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Culp is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culp
- Highland Fling
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Highland Fling is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Fling
- Altoona
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Point View
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Point View is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point View
- Covedale
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Covedale is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covedale
- Flowing Spring
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Flowing Spring is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowing Spring
- Franklin Forge
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Franklin Forge is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Forge
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Ridge, with the one closest to Sandy Ridge listed first.
- Lloydville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lloydville is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydville
- Fallentimber
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Flinton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dean
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dean is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dean
- Dysart
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dysart is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dysart
- Buckhorn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Buckhorn is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
- Ashville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Thomas Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Thomas Mills is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Mills
- Amsbry
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Amsbry is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsbry
- Chest Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Chest Springs is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chest Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 138 people
- Patton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Gallitzin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Clearfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Ridge, with the one closest to Sandy Ridge listed first.
- Osceola Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Chester Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Chester Hill is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 820 people
- Parsonsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Parsonsville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsonsville
- Ashland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ashland is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Brisbin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Brisbin is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brisbin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 385 people
- Ginter
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Ginter is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ginter
- West Decatur
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- West Decatur is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Decatur
- West Decatur has also been known as:
- Blue Ball
- Decatur
- Houtzdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Ramey
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Ramey is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 425 people
- Morrisdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Wallaceton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Wallaceton is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallaceton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Sanborn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sanborn is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanborn
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Ridge, with the one closest to Sandy Ridge listed first.
- Pennington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pennington is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
- Dungarvin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dungarvin is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dungarvin
- Birmingham
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Birmingham is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
- Huntingdon Furnace
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Huntingdon Furnace is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntingdon Furnace
- Seven Stars
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Seven Stars is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
- Water Street
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Water Street is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Street
- Neffs Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Neffs Mills is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neffs Mills
- Alexandria
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Petersburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Donation
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Donation is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donation
- Ennisville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Ennisville is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennisville
- Huntingdon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Ridge, with the one closest to Sandy Ridge listed first.
- Glen Campbell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Urey
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Urey is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urey
- Mifflin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Ridge, with the one closest to Sandy Ridge listed first.
- Allensville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Menno
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Menno is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menno
- Belleville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sandy Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Sandy Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Sandy Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sandy Ridge.
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 Sandy Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sandy Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sandy Ridge, with the one closest to Sandy Ridge listed first.
- Umbria Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Umbria Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Umbria Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Osceola Mills.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #449527 <2>
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Baughman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Centre UMC Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre UMC Cemetery
- The Centre UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Centre Cemetery
- Centre United Methodist Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44557 <2>
- Philipsburg Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- IOOF Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Mokes Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- St. Barbara Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Grazier Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Beck Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Nearhoff Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (229 more) ...
- Spring Mount Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Rumberger Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Butler Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Sandy Ridge had a population of 110 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sandy Ridge, with the one closest to Sandy Ridge listed first.
- Osceola Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Victor
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Victor is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victor
- Goss Run Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Goss Run Junction is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goss Run Junction
- Sterling
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Sterling is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
- Gearhartville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Gearhartville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gearhartville
- Graham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Graham is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
- Brisbin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Brisbin is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brisbin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 385 people
- Morann
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Morann is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morann
- Vail
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Vail is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vail
- Hannah
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hannah is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hannah
- Loch Lomond Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Loch Lomond Junction is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loch Lomond Junction
- Kendrick
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Kendrick is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendrick
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- West Decatur
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- West Decatur is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Decatur
- West Decatur has also been known as:
- Blue Ball
- Decatur
- Houtzdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Ramey
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Ramey is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 425 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sandy Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sandy Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Sandy Ridge ...
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 15 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sandy Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sandy Ridge, 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 Sandy Ridge.
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 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 Sandy Ridge:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Centre County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blair County
- Cambria County
- Clearfield County
- Huntingdon County
- Indiana County
- Mifflin 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 Sandy Ridge, 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- Sandy Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |