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 Shoemaker (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 Shoemaker. 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.
Shoemaker is located in Cambria 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 Cambria County: Bedford, Blair, Centre, Clearfield, Indiana, Somerset & Westmoreland.
Below are the counties that are near Shoemaker. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Shoemaker:
- Cambria County (The home county of Shoemaker)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shoemaker, with the one closest to Shoemaker listed first.
- Bens Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Bens Creek is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bens Creek
- Oil City
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Oil City is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
- Scarlan Hill
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Scarlan Hill is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scarlan Hill
- Sonman
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Sonman is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonman
- Spring Hill
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Spring Hill is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Portage
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Puritan
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Puritan is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puritan
- Munster
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Munster is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munster
- Cresson
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Summit
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Summit is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Beaverdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Beaverdale is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverdale
- Sankertown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sankertown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sankertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
- Summerhill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shoemaker, with the one closest to Shoemaker listed first.
- Pavia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Pavia is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavia
- King
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- King is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
- Pleasantville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Pleasantville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
- Osterburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Maria
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Maria is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maria
- New Enterprise
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- New Enterprise is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Enterprise
- Saint Clairsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Clairsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clairsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
- Salemville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Salemville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salemville
- Waterside
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Waterside is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterside
- New Paris
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Loysburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Woodbury
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Marble City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Marble City is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble City
- Blair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shoemaker, with the one closest to Shoemaker listed first.
- Blue Knob
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Blue Knob is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Knob
- Puzzletown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Puzzletown is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puzzletown
- Brooks Mill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Brooks Mill is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks Mill
- Cross Keys
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Cross Keys is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Keys
- Duncansville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Newry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Cotton Town
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cotton Town is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Town
- Canan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Canan is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canan
- Eldorado
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Eldorado is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
- Claysburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hollidaysburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Roaring Spring
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Altoona
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Clearfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shoemaker, with the one closest to Shoemaker listed first.
- Lyleville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Lyleville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyleville
- Sylvis
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Sylvis is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvis
- Westover
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Westover is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 374 people
- Blain City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Blain City is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blain City
- Coalport
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Rosebud
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Rosebud is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosebud
- Utahville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Utahville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utahville
- Irvona
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- McPherron
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- McPherron is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McPherron
- Glen Hope
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Glen Hope is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Hope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Hegarty Crossroads
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Hegarty Crossroads is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hegarty Crossroads
- Burnside
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Burnside is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Ginter
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ginter is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ginter
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shoemaker, with the one closest to Shoemaker listed first.
- Entriken
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Marklesburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Marklesburg is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marklesburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 194 people
- Middletown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Middletown is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Coalmont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Coalmont is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Salter
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Salter is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salter
- Dudley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Dudley is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
- Hesston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Water Street
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Water Street is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Street
- McConnellstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- McConnellstown is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McConnellstown
- Birmingham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Birmingham is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
- Broad Top City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Broad Top City is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broad Top City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 443 people
- Alexandria
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shoemaker, with the one closest to Shoemaker listed first.
- Rexis
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rexis is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rexis
- Wehrum
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Wehrum is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wehrum
- Alverda
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Alverda is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverda
- Dilltown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Nolo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Nolo is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nolo
- Armagh
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Grisemore
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Grisemore is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grisemore
- Heilwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Heilwood is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heilwood
- Littletown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Littletown is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littletown
- Suncliff
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Suncliff is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suncliff
- Kenwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Kenwood is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenwood
- Pine Flats
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Flats is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Flats
- Claghorn ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Claghorn is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claghorn
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shoemaker, with the one closest to Shoemaker listed first.
- Ogletown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Ogletown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogletown
- Paint
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Paint is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint
- Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
- Windber
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Tire Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Tire Hill is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tire Hill
- Benson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Benson is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
- Davidsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hollsopple
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Blough
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Blough is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blough
- Central City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Forward
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Forward is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forward
- Jerome
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jerome is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
- Thomas Mill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Thomas Mill is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Mill
- Hooversville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hooversville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooversville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 589 people
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shoemaker, with the one closest to Shoemaker listed first.
- Seward
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Robb
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Robb is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robb
- New Florence
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- West Fairfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- West Fairfield is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fairfield
- Bolivar
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Oak Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Oak Grove is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Shoemaker, see our County-by-County Page for Shoemaker.
Cemeteries Near Shoemaker ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shoemaker.
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 Shoemaker - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Shoemaker covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Shoemaker, with the one closest to Shoemaker listed first.
- Prospect Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Prospect Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Portage.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2146685 <2>
- St. Marys Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sacred Heart Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Sacred Heart Cemetery is located in Portage.
- St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lillydale Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- St. Bridgids Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Union Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Bartholomew Catholic Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Sherbine Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pringle Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Josephs Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Josephs Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Beaverdale.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2171430 <2>
- Continue List (246 more) ...
- St. Marys Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Union Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- St. Francis Xavier Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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>
While we didn't find Shoemaker in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Shoemaker.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Shoemaker, with the one closest to Shoemaker listed first.
- Bens Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Bens Creek is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bens Creek
- Sonman
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Sonman is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonman
- Portage
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Puritan
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Puritan is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puritan
- Lucket
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Lucket is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucket
- Blue Knob
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Blue Knob is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Knob
- Summit
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Summit is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Cresson
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Munster
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Munster is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munster
- Summerhill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Noel
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Noel is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noel
- Ehrenfeld
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Ehrenfeld is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ehrenfeld
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- South Fork
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Dunlo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dunlo is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlo
- Ebensburg
(7 miles [11.3 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 Shoemaker. See our List of 1890's Communities around Shoemaker.
Newspapers Published in Shoemaker ...
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 57 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shoemaker.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shoemaker, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shoemaker.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Shoemaker:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Cambria County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford County
- Blair County
- Clearfield County
- Huntingdon County
- Indiana County
- Somerset County
- Westmoreland 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 Shoemaker, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Shoemaker) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |