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 Sowash (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 Sowash. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
Sowash is located in Westmoreland 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 Westmoreland County: Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Indiana & Somerset.
Below are the counties that are near Sowash. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sowash:
- Westmoreland County (The home county of Sowash)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sowash, with the one closest to Sowash listed first.
- Luxor
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Luxor is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luxor
- Crabtree
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Beatty
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Beatty is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beatty
- Greensburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Latrobe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lawson Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lawson Heights is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawson Heights
- Southwest Greensburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Southwest Greensburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwest Greensburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,002 people
- McChesneytown - Loyalhanna
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Congruity
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Congruity is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congruity
- New Alexandria
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Manito
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Manito is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manito
- Radebaugh
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Radebaugh is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radebaugh
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sowash, with the one closest to Sowash listed first.
- Pitcairn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Buena Vista
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Monroeville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Wall
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Wall is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
- Garden City
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Garden City is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- New Texas
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- New Texas is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Texas
- Plum
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Plum is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,993 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plum <1>
- Boston
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- East McKeesport
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- North Versailles
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Versailles
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Versailles is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Versailles
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,452 people
- White Oak
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sowash, with the one closest to Sowash listed first.
- Edmon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- Apollo
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- North Apollo
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Olivet
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Olivet is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Orchard Hills
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- Spring Church
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Leechburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Cochrans Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Cochrans Mills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mills
- Aladdin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
- Elderton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Neale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Neale is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
- Freeport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sowash, with the one closest to Sowash listed first.
- Monroe
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Ekastown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ekastown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sowash, with the one closest to Sowash listed first.
- Elim
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Elim is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elim
- Westmont
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Westmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,625 people
- Brownstown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Cambria City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Cambria City is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambria City
- Lilly
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Lilly is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 873 people
- Southmont
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Southmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,048 people
- Wilmore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Conemaugh
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Conemaugh is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conemaugh
- Dale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Dale is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,110 people
- Ferndale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Johnstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Belmont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Belmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sowash, with the one closest to Sowash listed first.
- Laurelville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Laurelville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
- Bear Rocks
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
- Everson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Everson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
- White
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- White is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Champion
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Banning
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Banning is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Indian Head
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Indian Head is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
- Dawson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fuller
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fuller is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Lynn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lynn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Whitsett
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Whitsett is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
- Connellsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sowash, with the one closest to Sowash listed first.
- White
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Bow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Blairsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Clarksburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Saltsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Black Lick
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Black Lick is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lick
- Jacksonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Robinson
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Robinson is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
- Josephine
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Josephine is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephine
- Palmertown
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Aultman
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Aultman is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aultman
- Coral
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sowash, with the one closest to Sowash listed first.
- Laurel Mountain Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bakersville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bakersville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Roytown
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Roytown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roytown
- Jennerstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Jenners Crossroads
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jenners Crossroads is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners Crossroads
- Jenners
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jenners is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners
- Sipesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sipesville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipesville
- Thomas Mill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Thomas Mill is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Mill
- Jerome
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Jerome is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
- Husband
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Husband is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Husband
- Lavansville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lavansville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavansville
- Gideon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Gideon is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gideon
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sowash, with the one closest to Sowash listed first.
- Donora
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Black Diamond
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Black Diamond is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
- Monongahela
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Riverview
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Riverview is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Allenport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Charleroi
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dunlevy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- North Charleroi
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- North Charleroi is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Charleroi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,258 people
- Roscoe
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Roscoe is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 791 people
- Speers
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Speers is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,061 people
- Ellsworth
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Ellsworth is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- New Eagle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sowash, see our County-by-County Page for Sowash.
Cemeteries Near Sowash ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sowash.
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 Sowash - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sowash covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sowash, with the one closest to Sowash listed first.
- Calvary Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Holy Sacrament Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- St. Clair Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Steels Monument Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Union Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Shirey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Unity Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity Cemetery
- The Unity Cemetery has also been known as:
- Unity Presbyterian Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46551 <2>
- St. Marys Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Hillview Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Xavier Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- St. Vincent Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Westmoreland County Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (369 more) ...
- St. Lukes Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Craig Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Union Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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 Sowash in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sowash.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sowash, with the one closest to Sowash listed first.
- Georges Station
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Georges Station is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georges Station
- Carney
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Carney is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carney
- Denison
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Denison is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denison
- Crabtree
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Greensburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Beatty
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Beatty is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beatty
- Latrobe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Radebaugh
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Radebaugh is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radebaugh
- Congruity
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Congruity is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congruity
- Hostetter
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Hostetter is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hostetter
- Manito
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Manito is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manito
- Loyalhanna
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Loyalhanna is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyalhanna
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- New Alexandria
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Mutual
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mutual is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mutual
- Trauger
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Trauger is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trauger
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sowash. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sowash.
Newspapers Published in Sowash ...
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 79 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sowash.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sowash, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sowash.
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 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 Sowash:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Westmoreland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Armstrong County
- Butler County
- Cambria County
- Fayette County
- Indiana County
- Somerset County
- Washington 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 Sowash, 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 from Point A (ie- Sowash) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |