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 South Hills (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 South Hills. 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.
Name Variations for South Hills ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for South Hills: S. Hills
You might be interested in other communities that are also named South Hills. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for South Hills.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 northwest 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 north.
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 north 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.
South Hills is located in Allegheny 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 Allegheny County: Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Washington & Westmoreland.
Below are the counties that are near South Hills. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to South Hills:
- Allegheny County (The home county of South Hills)
- The following are listed by their distance from South Hills, with the one closest to South Hills listed first.
- Dormont
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Green Tree
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Castle Shannon
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Carrick
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Carrick is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrick
- Beltzhoover
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Beltzhoover is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beltzhoover
- Mount Washington
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Washington is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Washington
- Rosslyn Farms
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rosslyn Farms is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosslyn Farms
- Population from the 2020 Census: 417 people
- Mount Lebanon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Carnegie
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Heidelberg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Heidelberg is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,199 people
- Woodville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Woodville is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Allentown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Allentown is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allentown
- Baldwin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Baldwin is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,419 people
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from South Hills, with the one closest to South Hills listed first.
- Freeport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Aladdin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
- Apollo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Leechburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- North Apollo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Orchard Hills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- Edmon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- Beaver County
- The following are listed by their distance from South Hills, with the one closest to South Hills listed first.
- Ambridge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- South Heights
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- South Heights is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 437 people
- Gringo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gringo is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gringo
- Crestmont Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Crestmont Village is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestmont Village
- Aliquippa
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Baden
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Economy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Economy is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Economy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,022 people
- New Sheffield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- New Sheffield is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sheffield
- Conway
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wallace City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wallace City is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace City
- Knob
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Knob is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob
- Harshaville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Harshaville is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harshaville
- Frankfort Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Frankfort Springs is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankfort Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from South Hills, with the one closest to South Hills listed first.
- Valencia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Seven Fields
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Seven Fields is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Fields
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,740 people
- Fernway
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Fernway is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernway
- Fox Run
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Fox Run is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Run
- Mars
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Ogle
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Ogle is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogle
- Callery
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Glade Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Glade Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
- Myoma
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Myoma is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myoma
- Watters
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Watters is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watters
- Ekastown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ekastown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
- Brownsdale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Brownsdale is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsdale
- Evans City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from South Hills, with the one closest to South Hills listed first.
- Belle Vernon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fairhope
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fairhope is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhope
- Lynnwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lynnwood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood
- Arnold City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Arnold City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold City
- Brownstown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Brownstown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
- Fayette City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fayette City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
- Newell
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Newell is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 492 people
- Chamouni
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Chamouni is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamouni
- Banning
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Banning is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Kenneth
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Kenneth is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenneth
- Whitsett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Whitsett is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
- Fuller
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fuller is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Lynn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lynn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from South Hills, with the one closest to South Hills listed first.
- Clarksville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Chartiers
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Chartiers is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
- West Union
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- West Union is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
- Rices Landing
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from South Hills, with the one closest to South Hills listed first.
- Thompsonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Thompsonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- McMurray
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Finleyville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Gastonville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Gastonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gastonville
- Ellsworth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ellsworth is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- MacDonald
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- MacDonald is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for MacDonald
- McDonald
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Cokeburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cokeburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokeburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
- Gilkeson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Gilkeson is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilkeson
- Canonsburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Strabane
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Houston
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Midway
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from South Hills, with the one closest to South Hills listed first.
- Trafford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Shaner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Shaner is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaner
- Larimer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Larimer is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larimer
- Sutersville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- North Irwin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- North Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Blackburn ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Blackburn is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Rillton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Webster
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Webster is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Irwin
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,716 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwin <1>
- Murrysville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- New Kensington
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Parnassus
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Parnassus is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
- Monessen
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from South Hills, with the one closest to South Hills listed first.
- Mingo Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Toronto
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Brooke County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from South Hills, with the one closest to South Hills listed first.
- Hooverson Heights
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Hooverson Heights is located in Brooke County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooverson Heights
- Follansbee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Bethany
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lower Ferry ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Lower Ferry is located in Brooke County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Ferry
- Middle Ferry ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Middle Ferry is located in Brooke County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Ferry
- Hancock County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from South Hills, with the one closest to South Hills listed first.
- Weirton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Fairhaven
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fairhaven is located in Hancock County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
- Zalia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Zalia is located in Hancock County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zalia
- Lawrenceville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lawrenceville is located in Hancock County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceville
- New Cumberland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- New Manchester
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- New Manchester is located in Hancock County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Manchester
- Ohio County (WV)
- Potomac
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Potomac is located in Ohio County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potomac
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to South Hills, see our County-by-County Page for South Hills.
Cemeteries Near South Hills ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of South Hills.
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 South Hills - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for South Hills covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from South Hills, with the one closest to South Hills listed first.
- St. Clair Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Mt. Lebanon Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- St. Ignatius / St. Marys Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- German Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- German Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- St. Anns Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- St. Sava Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- St. Casimer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (437 more) ...
- Zion Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Beth Abraham Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Shaare Torah Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 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 South Hills in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of South Hills.
These communities are listed based on their distance from South Hills, with the one closest to South Hills listed first.
- Green Tree
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Castle Shannon
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Banksville
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Banksville is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banksville
- Woodville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Woodville is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Beadling
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Beadling is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beadling
- Mount Lebanon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Carrick
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Carrick is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrick
- Beltzhoover
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Beltzhoover is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beltzhoover
- Mount Washington
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Washington is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Washington
- Bower Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bower Hill is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bower Hill
- Essen
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Essen is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essen
- Brightwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Brightwood is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brightwood
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Whitehall
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Baldwin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Baldwin is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,419 people
- Crafton
(3 miles [4.8 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 South Hills. See our List of 1890's Communities around South Hills.
Newspapers Published in South Hills ...
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 465 newspapers that have been published in the area around South Hills.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of South Hills, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for South Hills.
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 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 South Hills:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Allegheny County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Armstrong County
- Beaver County
- Butler County
- Fayette County
- Greene County
- Washington County
- Westmoreland County
- Jefferson County
- Brooke County
- Hancock County
- Ohio 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 South Hills, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- South Hills) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |