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 Speedwell (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 Speedwell. 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 and hospitals 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.
Speedwell is located in Lancaster 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 Lancaster County: Cecil (MD), Harford (MD), Berks, Chester, Dauphin, Lebanon & York.
Below are the counties that are near Speedwell. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Speedwell:
- Lancaster County (The home county of Speedwell)
- The following are listed by their distance from Speedwell, with the one closest to Speedwell listed first.
- Poplar Grove
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Poplar Grove is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
- Brickerville
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Elm
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Elm is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm
- Brunnerville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Clay
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Clay is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
- Hopeland
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hopeland is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeland
- Lititz
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Fairland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Fairland is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairland
- Kissell Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Kissell Hill is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kissell Hill
- Manheim
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Elstonville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Elstonville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elstonville
- Mount Hope
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mount Hope is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Berks County
- The following are listed by their distance from Speedwell, with the one closest to Speedwell listed first.
- Womelsdorf
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Robesonia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Adamstown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Adamstown is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,905 people
- Adamstown has also been known as:
- Adamschteddel
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adamstown <1>
- Mount Aetna
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Wintersville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Wintersville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wintersville
- Phoebe Berks Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wernersville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Brownsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Brownsville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- North Heidelberg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- North Heidelberg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Heidelberg
- Alleghenyville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Alleghenyville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alleghenyville
- Rehrersburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Rehrersburg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rehrersburg
- Sinking Spring
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Chester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Speedwell, with the one closest to Speedwell listed first.
- Cambridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cambridge is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Honey Brook
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Compass
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Compass is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compass
- Dampman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Dampman is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dampman
- Suplee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Suplee is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suplee
- Atglen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Birdell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Birdell is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdell
- Cupola
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Cupola is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cupola
- Elverson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Isabella
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Isabella is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
- Rockville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Rockville is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Lenover
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lenover is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenover
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Speedwell, with the one closest to Speedwell listed first.
- New Cumberland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Lemoyne
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Lower Allen
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Lower Allen is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Allen
- Dauphin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Speedwell, with the one closest to Speedwell listed first.
- Bachmanville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Bachmanville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bachmanville
- Hershey
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Union Deposit
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Union Deposit is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Deposit
- Grantville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hummelstown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Shellsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Shellsville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shellsville
- Clifton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Clifton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Middletown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Royalton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Royalton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royalton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,019 people
- Manadahill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Manadahill is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manadahill
- Skyline View
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Skyline View is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline View
- Rutherford
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Rutherford is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherford
- Lebanon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Speedwell, with the one closest to Speedwell listed first.
- Johnstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Johnstown is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Miners Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Miners Village is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miners Village
- Schaefferstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Burd Coleman Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Burd Coleman Village is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burd Coleman Village
- Cornwall
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Quentin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Gretna Heights
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mount Gretna Heights is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gretna Heights
- Mount Gretna
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Timber Hills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Timber Hills is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Hills
- Prescott
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Prescott is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
- Stricklerstown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Stricklerstown is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stricklerstown
- Avon Heights
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Avon Heights is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon Heights
- Luzerne County
- Newtown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Newtown is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
- Schuylkill County
- The following are listed by their distance from Speedwell, with the one closest to Speedwell listed first.
- Irving
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Irving is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
- Marstown
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Marstown is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marstown
- Pine Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Suedberg
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Suedberg is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suedberg
- Beuchler
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Beuchler is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beuchler
- Moyers
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Moyers is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moyers
- Paradise
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Paradise is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
- Ravine
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Ravine is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravine
- Summit Station
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Summit Station is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Station
- Aucheys
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Aucheys is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucheys
- Lorberry Junction
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Lorberry Junction is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorberry Junction
- Echo Valley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Echo Valley is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Valley
- York County
- The following are listed by their distance from Speedwell, with the one closest to Speedwell listed first.
- Wrightsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Prospect
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- East Prospect is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Prospect
- Population from the 2020 Census: 912 people
- Craley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Craley is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craley
- Hallam
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hallam is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallam
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,634 people
- Yorkana
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Yorkana is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
- York Haven
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Bittersville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bittersville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bittersville
- Mount Wolf
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- New Bridgeville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- New Bridgeville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bridgeville
- Starview
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Starview is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starview
- Stonybrook
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Stonybrook is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonybrook
- Goldsboro
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Goldsboro is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 938 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Speedwell, see our County-by-County Page for Speedwell.
Cemeteries Near Speedwell ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Speedwell.
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 Speedwell - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Speedwell covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Speedwell, with the one closest to Speedwell listed first.
- Bethel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Brunnerville United Methodist Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Moravian Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Hopeland UMC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeland UMC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Hopeland UMC Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Hopeland.
- The Hopeland UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hopeland Brethren Church Cemetery
- Hopeland Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2154417 <2>
- Shumaker Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Kauffman's Mennonite Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Earhart Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Kauffman Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bassler Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassler Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Bassler Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the southwest of Lititz.
- The Bassler Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bassler Graveyard
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2369144 <2>
- Cornwall Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Holy Savior Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (288 more) ...
- Miners Village Mennonite Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<4>
While we didn't find Speedwell in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Speedwell.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Speedwell, with the one closest to Speedwell listed first.
- Lexington
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Lexington is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
- Brickerville
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Brunnerville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Penryn
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Penryn is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penryn
- Limerock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Limerock is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limerock
- Lititz
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Clay
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Clay is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
- Manheim
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fairland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Fairland is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairland
- Kissell Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Kissell Hill is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kissell Hill
- Rothsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Rothsville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rothsville
- Millway
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Millway is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millway
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Durlach
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Durlach is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durlach
- Rexmont
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Rexmont is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rexmont
- Miners Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Miners Village is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miners Village
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Speedwell. See our List of 1890's Communities around Speedwell.
Newspapers Published in Speedwell ...
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 163 newspapers that have been published in the area around Speedwell.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Speedwell, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Speedwell.
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 Speedwell:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Lancaster County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Berks County
- Chester County
- Cumberland County
- Dauphin County
- Lebanon County
- Luzerne County
- Schuylkill County
- York 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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Speedwell) 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 Speedwell, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |