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 Somerset (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 Somerset. 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 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.
Somerset is located in Somerset County and is the County Seat.
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 Somerset County: Allegany (MD), Garrett (MD), Bedford, Cambria, Fayette & Westmoreland.
Below are the counties that are near Somerset. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Somerset:
- Somerset County (The home county of Somerset)
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Husband
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Husband is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Husband
- Milford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Milford is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
- Gideon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Gideon is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gideon
- Lavansville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Lavansville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavansville
- Friedens
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Boswell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Sipesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Sipesville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipesville
- Coleman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Coleman is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
- Beachdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Beachdale is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beachdale
- New Centerville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- New Centerville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Centerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
- Rockwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bakersville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Bakersville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Kegg
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Kegg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
- Hyndman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Schellsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- New Paris
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Stringtown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Stringtown is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Cooks Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
- Manns Choice
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Pleasantville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Pleasantville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
- Wolfsburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Wolfsburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfsburg
- Charlesville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Charlesville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesville
- Beans Cove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Beans Cove is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Cove
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Ingleside
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ingleside is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
- Scalp Level
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Scalp Level is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalp Level
- Population from the 2020 Census: 691 people
- Elim
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Elim is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elim
- Belmont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Belmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Ferndale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Southmont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Southmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,048 people
- Westmont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Westmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,625 people
- Dale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Dale is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,110 people
- Geistown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Geistown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geistown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,242 people
- Lorain
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lorain is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 680 people
- Brownstown
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Conemaugh
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Conemaugh is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conemaugh
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Seven Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Champion
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Indian Head
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Indian Head is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
- White
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- White is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Bear Rocks
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
- Laurelville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Laurelville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
- Ohiopyle
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Markleysburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- South Connellsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Connellsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Everson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Everson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
- Dunbar
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Robinson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Robinson is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
- Armagh
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Blairsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Laurel Mountain
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Laurel Mountain is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Mountain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
- Laurel Mountain has also been known as:
- Laurel Mountain Park
- Laughlintown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rector
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Stahlstown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Donegal
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Oak Grove is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Ligonier
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Darlington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Darlington is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
- West Fairfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- West Fairfield is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fairfield
- Kecksburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Kecksburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kecksburg
- Kingston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Kingston is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Lycippus
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lycippus is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lycippus
- Allegany County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Mount Savage
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Zihlman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Zihlman is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zihlman
- Barrelville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
- Frostburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ellerslie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ellerslie is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
- Eckhart Mines
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Eckhart Mines is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckhart Mines
- Midlothian
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Midlothian is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midlothian
- Corriganville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Corriganville is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
- Borden Shaft
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Borden Shaft is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Shaft
- Clarysville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Clarysville is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarysville
- Mount Savage Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Savage Junction is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Savage Junction
- Klondike
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Klondike is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
- Garrett County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Grantsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Avilton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Avilton is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
- Bittinger
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Accident
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Friendsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mineral County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Ridgeley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Carpendale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Carpendale is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpendale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 900 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Somerset, see our County-by-County Page for Somerset.
Cemeteries Near Somerset ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Somerset.
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 Somerset - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Somerset covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Union Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Husband Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Weller Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Listie Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Lichty Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pugh Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Friedens Luthern Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friedens Luthern Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Friedens Luthern Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Friedens.
- The Friedens Luthern Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Friedens Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2207909 <2>
- Mispah Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mispah Lutheran Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mispah Lutheran Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the west of Shanksville.
- The Mispah Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mispah Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2188400 <2>
- Pike Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Schmucker Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (190 more) ...
- Garden of Memories Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Bakersville Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- St. Josephs 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Somerset had a population of 1,713 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Somerset had a population of 5,817 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Husband
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Husband is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Husband
- Geiger
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Geiger is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geiger
- Gideon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Gideon is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gideon
- Lavansville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Lavansville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavansville
- Shamrock
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Shamrock is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock
- Friedens
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Gebhart
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gebhart is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gebhart
- Edie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Edie is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edie
- Coleman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Coleman is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
- Sipesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Sipesville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipesville
- Rockwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Beachdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Beachdale is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beachdale
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Bakersville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Bakersville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Shober
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Shober is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shober
- Mineral Spring
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mineral Spring is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Spring
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Somerset. See our List of 1890's Communities around Somerset.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Somerset ...
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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Somerset.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Somerset. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Somerset and those printed in the larger area surrounding Somerset.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3> of Somerset.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Somerset:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Somerset County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford County
- Cambria County
- Fayette County
- Indiana County
- Westmoreland County
- Allegany County
- Garrett County
- Mineral 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> | 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- Somerset) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Somerset, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |