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 Somerville (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 Somerville. 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 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.
Somerville is located in Armstrong 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 Armstrong County: Allegheny, Butler, Clarion, Indiana, Jefferson & Westmoreland.
Below are the counties that are near Somerville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Somerville:
- Armstrong County (The home county of Somerville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerville, with the one closest to Somerville listed first.
- Kaylor
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Kaylor is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaylor
- Bradys Bend
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bradys Bend is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradys Bend
- Queenstown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Queenstown is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queenstown
- Fredericksburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fredericksburg is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredericksburg
- Wattersonville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Wattersonville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattersonville
- Rimer
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Rimer is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rimer
- Laird Crossing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Laird Crossing is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laird Crossing
- Cowansville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tidal
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Tidal is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tidal
- Worthington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Parker
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Frenchs Corners
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Frenchs Corners is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchs Corners
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerville, with the one closest to Somerville listed first.
- Sligo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Sligo is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sligo
- Karns
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Karns is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karns
- Culmerville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Culmerville is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culmerville
- Brackenridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Natrona
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Natrona is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natrona
- Curtisville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Curtisville is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtisville
- Russellton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Tarentum
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Rural Ridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Gibsonia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cheswick
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Harwick
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Harwick is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwick
- Beaver County
- Goehring
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Goehring is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goehring
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerville, with the one closest to Somerville listed first.
- Kepples Corners
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Kepples Corners is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kepples Corners
- Karns City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Chicora
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Millerstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Millerstown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerstown
- Fairview
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 186 people
- Petrolia
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Petrolia is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petrolia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Bruin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bruin is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 489 people
- Fenelton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Joe
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Joe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joe
- North Oakland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- North Oakland is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Oakland
- Greece City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Greece City is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greece City
- Hooker
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Hooker is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Clarion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerville, with the one closest to Somerville listed first.
- East Brady
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Phillipston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Phillipston is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipston
- Catfish
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Catfish is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catfish
- Bela
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bela is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bela
- Lawsonham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Lawsonham is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonham
- Rimersburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- West Freedom
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- West Freedom is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Freedom
- Toby
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Toby is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toby
- Foxburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Callensburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Callensburg is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callensburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
- Saint Petersburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Sligo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerville, with the one closest to Somerville listed first.
- Smicksburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Beyer
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Beyer is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beyer
- Plumville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Plumville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
- Shelocta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Willet
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Willet is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willet
- Davis
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Davis is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
- Parkwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Parkwood is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- West Lebanon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- West Lebanon is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
- Elkin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Elkin is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkin
- Georgeville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Georgeville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgeville
- Trade City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Trade City is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trade City
- Creekside
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Creekside is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creekside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerville, with the one closest to Somerville listed first.
- Langville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Langville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langville
- Pansy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Pansy is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pansy
- Summerville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Summerville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 501 people
- Ohl
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Ohl is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohl
- Timblin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Timblin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timblin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Worthville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Worthville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
- Corsica
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Corsica is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corsica
- Population from the 2020 Census: 342 people
- Baxter
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Baxter is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Coolspring
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerville, with the one closest to Somerville listed first.
- Grant City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Grant City is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant City
- Rose Point
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Rose Point is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Point
- Harlansburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Harlansburg is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlansburg
- Mercer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerville, with the one closest to Somerville listed first.
- Courtneys Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Courtneys Mills is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Courtneys Mills
- Enterprise
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Enterprise is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Swamproot
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Swamproot is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swamproot
- North Liberty
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- North Liberty is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Liberty
- Kilgore
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Kilgore is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilgore
- Perrys Corners
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Perrys Corners is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrys Corners
- Venango County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerville, with the one closest to Somerville listed first.
- Eakin Corner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Eakin Corner is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eakin Corner
- Emlenton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Clintonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Nickleville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Nickleville is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickleville
- Saint George
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Saint George is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint George
- Nectarine
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Nectarine is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nectarine
- Barkeyville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Bullion
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Bullion is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullion
- Coal City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Coal City is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Pearl
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pearl is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl
- Cranberry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Cranberry is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry
- Fertigs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Fertigs is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertigs
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerville, with the one closest to Somerville listed first.
- Bagdad
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Bagdad is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagdad
- Hyde Park
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- West Leechburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- West Leechburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leechburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
- Weinel Crossroads
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Weinel Crossroads is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weinel Crossroads
- East Vandergrift
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- East Vandergrift is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Vandergrift
- Population from the 2020 Census: 631 people
- Vandergrift
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Arnold
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Lower Burrell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Oklahoma
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Oklahoma is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oklahoma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 739 people
- New Kensington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Parnassus
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Parnassus is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
- North Washington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- North Washington is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Washington
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Somerville, see our County-by-County Page for Somerville.
Cemeteries Near Somerville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Somerville.
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 Somerville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Somerville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Somerville, with the one closest to Somerville listed first.
- St. Marys Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- White Oak Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- St. Eusebius Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Crawford Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Shakley Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Robinson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Bear Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Fletcher Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Worthington Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Brush Valley Brethren Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (198 more) ...
- Lawnhaven Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Croyle Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Duncan Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
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 Somerville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Somerville.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Somerville, with the one closest to Somerville listed first.
- Adams
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Adams is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
- Kaylor
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Kaylor is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaylor
- East Brady
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bradys Bend
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bradys Bend is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradys Bend
- Fosters Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Fosters Mills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosters Mills
- Phillipston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Phillipston is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipston
- Queenstown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Queenstown is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queenstown
- Rattigan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rattigan is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rattigan
- Sherrett
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Sherrett is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherrett
- Catfish
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Catfish is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catfish
- Sarah Furnace
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sarah Furnace is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarah Furnace
- Karns City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Millerstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Millerstown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerstown
- Chicora
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Upper Hillville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Upper Hillville is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Hillville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Somerville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Somerville.
Newspapers Published in Somerville ...
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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Somerville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Somerville, 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 Somerville.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Somerville:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Armstrong County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Beaver County
- Butler County
- Clarion County
- Indiana County
- Jefferson County
- Lawrence County
- Mercer County
- Venango 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 Somerville, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Somerville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |