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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 Shickshinny (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 Shickshinny. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Shickshinny is located in Luzerne County.

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 Luzerne County: Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Monroe, Schuylkill, Sullivan & Wyoming.

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

  • Luzerne County     (The home county of Shickshinny)
  • Carbon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shickshinny, with the one closest to Shickshinny listed first.
    • Coxes Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Tresckow
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Beaver Meadows
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Meadows
      • Beaver Meadows is located in Carbon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beaver Meadows <2>
    • Hudsondale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Weatherly
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • East Side
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Leslie Run
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Penn Haven Junction
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Lansford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Nesquehoning
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Summit Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summit Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Hill
      • Summit Hill is located in Carbon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,975 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Summit Hill <2>
    • Unionville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Columbia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shickshinny, with the one closest to Shickshinny listed first.
    • Foundryville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foundryville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foundryville
      • Foundryville is located in Columbia County
    • Berwick
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jonestown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jonestown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonestown
      • Jonestown is located in Columbia County
    • Briar Creek
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Hetlerville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Mifflinville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mifflinville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflinville
      • Mifflinville is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mifflinville <2>
    • Stillwater
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Zaner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Benton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Lime Ridge
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lime Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Ridge
      • Lime Ridge is located in Columbia County
    • Orangeville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Rohrsburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rohrsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rohrsburg
      • Rohrsburg is located in Columbia County
  • Lackawanna County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shickshinny, with the one closest to Shickshinny listed first.
    • Lawrenceville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Belian Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
    • Milwaukee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Milwaukee. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milwaukee
      • Milwaukee is located in Lackawanna County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Milwaukee
      • From Shickshinny to Milwaukee
    • Old Forge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • 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 <2>
    • Moosic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • 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 <2>
    • Taylor
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • 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 <2>
    • Spring Brook
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Schultzville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lycoming County
  • Montour County
  • Northumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shickshinny, with the one closest to Shickshinny listed first.
    • Mount Carmel
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Carmel have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
      • Mount Carmel is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,708 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Carmel <2>
    • Bear Gap
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Elysburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elysburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elysburg
      • Elysburg is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elysburg <2>
    • Natalie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Riverside
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverside have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
      • Riverside is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,839 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riverside <2>
    • Dooleyville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Marion Heights
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marion Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion Heights
      • Marion Heights is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 573 people
    • Rushtown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rushtown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushtown
      • Rushtown is located in Northumberland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rushtown
      • From Shickshinny to Rushtown
    • Chulasky
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chulasky. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chulasky
      • Chulasky is located in Northumberland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Chulasky
      • From Shickshinny to Chulasky
    • Kulpmont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kulpmont have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kulpmont
      • Kulpmont is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,735 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kulpmont <2>
    • Locust Gap
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Schuylkill County
  • Sullivan County
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shickshinny, with the one closest to Shickshinny listed first.
    • Noxen
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Beaumont
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Mill City ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
    • Evans Falls
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Vernon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jenks
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Forkston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Forkston. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forkston
      • Forkston is located in Wyoming County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Forkston
      • From Shickshinny to Forkston
    • South Eaton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Osterhout
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Tunkhannock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • 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 <2>
    • Jenningsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Lake Winola
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Shickshinny ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shickshinny.

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 Shickshinny covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Shickshinny, with the one closest to Shickshinny 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 Shickshinny had a population of 1,448 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Shickshinny had a population of 807 people.

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

  • Mocanaqua
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mocanaqua have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mocanaqua
    • Mocanaqua is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mocanaqua <2>
  • Koonsville
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Koonsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koonsville
    • Koonsville is located in Luzerne County
  • Pond Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pond Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Hill
    • Pond Hill is located in Luzerne County
  • Lee
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lee. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
    • Lee is located in Luzerne County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Lee
    • From Shickshinny to Lee
  • Glen Lyon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Waterton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Wapwallopen
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wapwallopen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapwallopen
    • Wapwallopen is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wapwallopen <2>
  • Slocum
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slocum have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
    • Slocum is located in Luzerne County
  • Hunlock Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Huntington Mills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Muhlenberg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Muhlenberg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muhlenberg
    • Muhlenberg is located in Luzerne County
  • Town Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Town Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Hill
    • Town Hill is located in Luzerne County
  • Continue List   (21 more) ...
    • Beach Haven
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Hobbie
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hobbie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobbie
      • Hobbie is located in Luzerne County
    • Bloomingdale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Shickshinny ...

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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shickshinny.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Shickshinny. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Shickshinny and those printed in the larger area surrounding Shickshinny.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<6> of Shickshinny.

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 Shickshinny:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Shickshinny. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Luzerne County: www.luzernecounty.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Shickshinny, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Shickshinny) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shickshinny. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.1531, Longitude: -76.1502    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025