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 Spears Grove (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 Spears Grove. 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 Spears Grove ...
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.
- A typical abbreviation for Spears Grove: Spears Grv.
- While the name of this community is Spears Grove, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Spears Grove may originally have been Spear's Grove.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Spears Grove might be written as Spear Grove.
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.
Spears Grove is located in Juniata 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 Juniata County: Huntingdon, Mifflin, Northumberland, Perry & Snyder.
Below are the counties that are near Spears Grove. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Spears Grove:
- Juniata County (The home county of Spears Grove)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears Grove, with the one closest to Spears Grove listed first.
- Waterloo
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Waterloo is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
- Perulack
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Perulack is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perulack
- Peru Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Peru Mills is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru Mills
- East Rutherford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- East Rutherford is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rutherford
- McCullochs Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- McCullochs Mills is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCullochs Mills
- Reeds Gap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Reeds Gap is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Gap
- Doyles Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Doyles Mills is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyles Mills
- Old Port
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Old Port is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Port
- Port Royal
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Mifflin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mifflin is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
- Mexico
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mexico is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
- Mifflintown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Adams County
- Trust
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Trust is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
- Allegheny County
- Bloomfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Bloomfield is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,255 people
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears Grove, with the one closest to Spears Grove listed first.
- Saxton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Riddlesburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Riddlesburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riddlesburg
- Coaldale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Coaldale is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
- Langdondale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Langdondale is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langdondale
- Blair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears Grove, with the one closest to Spears Grove listed first.
- Covedale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Covedale is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covedale
- Beavertown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Beavertown is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beavertown
- Shellytown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Shellytown is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shellytown
- Williamsburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Franklin Forge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Franklin Forge is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Forge
- Clover Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Clover Creek is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Creek
- Oreminea
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Oreminea is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreminea
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears Grove, with the one closest to Spears Grove listed first.
- Washington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Washington is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington
- Newburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Newville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Big Spring
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Big Spring is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Shippensburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Bears Crossroads
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Bears Crossroads is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bears Crossroads
- Lees Cross Roads
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lees Cross Roads is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Cross Roads
- Plainfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Huntsdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Huntsdale is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsdale
- Montsera
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Montsera is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montsera
- Caprivi
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Caprivi is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caprivi
- Barnitz
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Barnitz is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnitz
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears Grove, with the one closest to Spears Grove listed first.
- Concord
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Concord is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Doylestown
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Doylestown is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doylestown
- Dry Run
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Dry Run is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Run
- Newbridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Newbridge is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbridge
- Roxbury
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Roxbury is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
- Mowersville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mowersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mowersville
- Orrstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Hall
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Hall is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hall
- Pinola
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Pinola is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinola
- Keefers
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Keefers is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keefers
- Freestone
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Freestone is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freestone
- Green Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Green Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Village
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears Grove, with the one closest to Spears Grove listed first.
- Burnt Cabins
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Burnt Cabins is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Cabins
- Clear Ridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Clear Ridge is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Ridge
- Fort Littleton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Waterfall
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Knobsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Knobsville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knobsville
- Laidig
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Laidig is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laidig
- Harrisonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Harrisonville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisonville
- Wells Tannery
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wells Tannery is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Tannery
- McConnellsburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Valley-Hi
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Valley-Hi is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley-Hi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears Grove, with the one closest to Spears Grove listed first.
- Blairs Mills
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Blairs Mills is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairs Mills
- Aughwick
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Aughwick is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aughwick
- Neelyton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Neelyton is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neelyton
- Shirleysburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Shade Gap
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Orbisonia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Rockhill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Rockhill is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockhill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
- Rockhill has also been known as:
- Rockhill Furnace
- Mount Union
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pogue
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Pogue is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pogue
- Mapleton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mapleton is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
- Birdville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Birdville is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdville
- Three Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Mifflin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears Grove, with the one closest to Spears Grove listed first.
- Newton Hamilton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Newton Hamilton is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 198 people
- Kistler
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kistler is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
- Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
- Atkinson Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Atkinson Mills is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson Mills
- Mattawana
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Mattawana is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattawana
- McVeytown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Anderson
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Anderson is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Allensville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Menno
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Menno is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menno
- Juniata Terrace
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Juniata Terrace is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniata Terrace
- Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
- Lewistown Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Lewistown Junction is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewistown Junction
- Belleville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Lewistown
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears Grove, with the one closest to Spears Grove listed first.
- New Germantown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Cisna Run
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Cisna Run is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisna Run
- Centre
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Centre is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre
- Kistler
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kistler is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
- Bixler
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bixler is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixler
- Landisburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Alinda
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Alinda is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alinda
- Ickesburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ickesburg is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ickesburg
- Elliottsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Elliottsburg is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliottsburg
- Eshcol
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Eshcol is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eshcol
- Falling Spring
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Falling Spring is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Spring
- Blain
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Spears Grove, see our County-by-County Page for Spears Grove.
Cemeteries Near Spears Grove ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spears Grove.
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 Spears Grove - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Spears Grove covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Spears Grove, with the one closest to Spears Grove listed first.
- United Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Elf Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Jeffries Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Zion Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jones / Chapman / Parson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- McCaskey Graves
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Nossville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Polk Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Richvale Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Shade Valley Union Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Barkley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Eby Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (251 more) ...
- Shope Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Crow Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- McWilliams Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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 Spears Grove in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Spears Grove.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Spears Grove, with the one closest to Spears Grove listed first.
- Concord
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Concord is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Waterloo
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Waterloo is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
- Blairs Mills
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Blairs Mills is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairs Mills
- Culbertson
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Culbertson is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culbertson
- Nossville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Nossville is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nossville
- Doylesburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Doylesburg is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doylesburg
- Dry Run
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Dry Run is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Run
- New Germantown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Peru Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Peru Mills is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru Mills
- Newbridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Newbridge is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbridge
- East Waterford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- East Waterford is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Waterford
- Neelyton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Neelyton is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neelyton
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Spring Run
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Shirleysburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Rockhill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Rockhill is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockhill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
- Rockhill has also been known as:
- Rockhill Furnace
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Spears Grove. See our List of 1890's Communities around Spears Grove.
Newspapers Published in Spears Grove ...
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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spears Grove.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Spears Grove, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Spears Grove.
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 Spears Grove:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Juniata County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Allegheny County
- Bedford County
- Blair County
- Cumberland County
- Franklin County
- Fulton County
- Huntingdon County
- Mifflin County
- Perry County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Spears Grove, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Spears Grove) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |