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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 Scranton (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 Scranton. 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 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.

Scranton is located in Lackawanna County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties 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 Scranton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Scranton:

  • Lackawanna County     (The home county of Scranton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scranton, with the one closest to Scranton listed first.
    • Dunmore
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Green Ridge
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Green Ridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Ridge
      • Green Ridge is located in Lackawanna County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Green Ridge
      • From Scranton to Green Ridge
    • Throop
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Taylor
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taylor have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor
      • Taylor is located in Lackawanna County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,879 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Taylor <1>
    • Dickson City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dickson City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickson City
      • Dickson City is located in Lackawanna County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,731 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dickson City <1>
    • Moosic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moosic have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moosic
      • Moosic is located in Lackawanna County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,813 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moosic <1>
    • Old Forge
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Forge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Forge
      • Old Forge is located in Lackawanna County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,838 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Forge <1>
    • Blakely
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blakely have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blakely
      • Blakely is located in Lackawanna County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,174 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blakely <1>
    • Olyphant
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Belian Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belian Village
      • Belian Village is located in Lackawanna County
    • Lawrenceville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Clarks Green
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarks Green have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Green
      • Clarks Green is located in Lackawanna County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,383 people
  • Carbon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scranton, with the one closest to Scranton listed first.
    • East Side
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Side have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Side
      • East Side is located in Carbon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 301 people
    • Albrightsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Leslie Run
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Leslie Run. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leslie Run
      • Leslie Run is located in Carbon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Leslie Run
      • From Scranton to Leslie Run
    • Meckesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Unionville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Luzerne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scranton, with the one closest to Scranton listed first.
    • Avoca
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Duryea
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duryea have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duryea
      • Duryea is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,910 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Duryea <1>
    • Houston City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Houston City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston City
      • Houston City is located in Luzerne County
    • Dupont
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dupont have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupont
      • Dupont is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,693 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dupont <1>
    • Langdon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Langdon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langdon
      • Langdon is located in Luzerne County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Langdon
      • From Scranton to Langdon
    • Hughestown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hughestown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughestown
      • Hughestown is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,356 people
    • Pittston
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • West Pittston
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Yatesville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yatesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yatesville
      • Yatesville is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
    • Exeter
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Exeter have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeter
      • Exeter is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,519 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Exeter <1>
    • Laflin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Carverton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carverton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carverton
      • Carverton is located in Luzerne County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Carverton
      • From Scranton to Carverton
  • Monroe County
  • Pike County
  • Susquehanna County
  • Wayne County
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scranton, with the one closest to Scranton listed first.
    • Factoryville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Winola
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Osterhout
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • South Eaton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Vernon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Dixon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dixon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
      • Dixon is located in Wyoming County
    • Nicholson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mill City ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mill City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill City
      • Mill City is located in Wyoming County
    • Marcy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Marcy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcy
      • Marcy is located in Wyoming County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Marcy
      • From Scranton to Marcy
    • Tunkhannock
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tunkhannock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunkhannock
      • Tunkhannock is located in Wyoming County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,674 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tunkhannock <1>
    • Beaumont
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Jenks
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Scranton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Scranton.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Scranton, with the one closest to Scranton 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Scranton had a population of 75,215 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Scranton had a population of 76,532 people.

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

  • Dunmore
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Green Ridge
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Green Ridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Ridge
    • Green Ridge is located in Lackawanna County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Green Ridge
    • From Scranton to Green Ridge
  • Minooka
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minooka have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minooka
    • Minooka is located in Lackawanna County
  • Nay Aug
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nay Aug have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nay Aug
    • Nay Aug is located in Lackawanna County
  • Throop
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Chinchilla
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chinchilla have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinchilla
    • Chinchilla is located in Lackawanna County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chinchilla <1>
  • Old Forge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Forge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Forge
    • Old Forge is located in Lackawanna County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,838 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Forge <1>
  • Moosic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moosic have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moosic
    • Moosic is located in Lackawanna County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,813 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moosic <1>
  • Dickson City
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dickson City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickson City
    • Dickson City is located in Lackawanna County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,731 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dickson City <1>
  • Olyphant
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Avoca
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Clarks Green
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarks Green have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Green
    • Clarks Green is located in Lackawanna County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,383 people
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Scranton ...

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 156 newspapers that have been published in the area around Scranton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Scranton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Scranton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Scranton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<6> of Scranton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Scranton:

The official website for Scranton: www.scrantonpa.gov/

The official website for Lackawanna County: www.lackawannacounty.org/

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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.
<5>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 Scranton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Scranton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Scranton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4087, Longitude: -75.6586    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025