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 Sidney (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 Sidney. 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 and hospitals 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.
Sidney is located in Indiana 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 Indiana County: Armstrong, Cambria, Clearfield, Jefferson & Westmoreland.
Below are the counties that are near Sidney. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sidney:
- Indiana County (The home county of Sidney)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sidney, with the one closest to Sidney listed first.
- Urey
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Urey is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urey
- Johnsonburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Johnsonburg is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonburg
- Glen Campbell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hooverhurst
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hooverhurst is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooverhurst
- Rossiter
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hillsdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hillsdale is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Cherry Tree
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Cherry Tree is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Tree
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Rochester Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rochester Mills is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester Mills
- Savan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Savan is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savan
- Uniontown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Uniontown is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Purchase Line
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Purchase Line is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purchase Line
- Marchand
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Marchand is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marchand
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sidney, with the one closest to Sidney listed first.
- Barnards
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Barnards is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnards
- Dayton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- McWilliams
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- McWilliams is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McWilliams
- Eddyville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Eddyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddyville
- Atwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Atwood is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
- Bryan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Bryan is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
- Putneyville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Putneyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putneyville
- Rural Valley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Echo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Echo is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
- Millville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Millville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
- Muff
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Muff is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muff
- Yatesboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Yatesboro is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yatesboro
- Blair County
- Highland Fling
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Highland Fling is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Fling
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sidney, with the one closest to Sidney listed first.
- Garmantown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Garmantown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garmantown
- Barnesboro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Barnesboro is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnesboro
- West Branch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- West Branch is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Branch
- Hastings
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Northern Cambria
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Northern Cambria is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northern Cambria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,456 people
- Spangler
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Spangler is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spangler
- Thomas Mills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Thomas Mills is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Mills
- Saint Benedict
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Saint Benedict is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Benedict
- Nicktown
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Nicktown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicktown
- Flinton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Patton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Carrolltown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Centre County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sidney, with the one closest to Sidney listed first.
- New Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- New Town is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Sandy Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Sandy Ridge is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
- South Philipsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- South Philipsburg is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Philipsburg
- Clarion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sidney, with the one closest to Sidney listed first.
- Hawthorn
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Fairmont City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Crates
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Crates is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crates
- New Bethlehem
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Frogtown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Frogtown is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frogtown
- Clearfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sidney, with the one closest to Sidney listed first.
- Mahaffey
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Burnside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Burnside is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- New Washington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- New Washington is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Washington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Bower
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bower is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bower
- Curry Run
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Curry Run is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curry Run
- Newburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Newburg is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
- Cherry Corner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Cherry Corner is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Corner
- Mayes
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Mayes is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayes
- Troutville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Troutville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troutville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Sylvis
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sylvis is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvis
- Thompsontown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Thompsontown is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsontown
- Helvetia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Helvetia is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helvetia
- Elk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sidney, with the one closest to Sidney listed first.
- Brockport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Shawmut
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Shawmut is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawmut
- Challenge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Challenge is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Challenge
- Horton City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Horton City is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton City
- Scattertown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Scattertown is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scattertown
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sidney, with the one closest to Sidney listed first.
- Winslow
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Winslow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winslow
- Albion
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Albion is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Punxsutawney
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sykesville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Wishaw
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wishaw is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wishaw
- Valier
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Valier is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valier
- Oliveburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Oliveburg is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliveburg
- Panic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Panic is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panic
- Prescottville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Prescottville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescottville
- Reynoldsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Fuller
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fuller is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Green Valley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Green Valley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
- Lawrence County
- Big Run
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Big Run is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Population from the 2020 Census: 594 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sidney, see our County-by-County Page for Sidney.
Cemeteries Near Sidney ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sidney.
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 Sidney - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sidney covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sidney, with the one closest to Sidney listed first.
- Urey Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sunderland Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bennett Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Mahaffey Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bowers Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Frye Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rock Springs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pearce Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- LaJose Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- McClure Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Lawn Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (178 more) ...
- Rowley Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowley Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Rowley Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Hillsdale.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45933 <2>
- Thompson Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Thompson Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Hillsdale.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46469 <2>
- Dunkard Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
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 in 1895, Sidney had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sidney, with the one closest to Sidney listed first.
- Urey
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Urey is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urey
- McGees Mills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- McGees Mills is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGees Mills
- Hillman
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hillman is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillman
- Flora
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Flora is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flora
- Glen Campbell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Burnside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Burnside is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Ostend
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Ostend is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostend
- Mahaffey
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Winslow
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Winslow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winslow
- Elbell
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Elbell is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbell
- Patchinville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Patchinville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patchinville
- New Washington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- New Washington is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Washington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Cush Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Cush Creek is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cush Creek
- Newburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Newburg is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
- Bower
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bower is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bower
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sidney. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sidney.
Newspapers Published in Sidney ...
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 Sidney.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sidney, 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 Sidney.
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 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 Sidney:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Indiana County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Armstrong County
- Blair County
- Cambria County
- Centre County
- Clarion County
- Clearfield County
- Elk County
- Jefferson County
- Lawrence 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 Sidney, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sidney) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |