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 Spike Island (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 Spike Island. 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 Spike Island ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Spike Island: Spike Is. (in Canada, 'Isld.' is the more common abbreviation.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Spike Island. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Spike Island.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.
Spike Island is located in Lackawanna 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 Lackawanna County: Luzerne, Monroe, Susquehanna, Wayne & Wyoming.
Below are the counties that are near Spike Island. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Spike Island:
- Lackawanna County (The home county of Spike Island)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spike Island, with the one closest to Spike Island listed first.
- Belian Village
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Belian Village is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belian Village
- Moosic
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Old Forge
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Lawrenceville
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Lawrenceville is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceville
- Taylor
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Minooka
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Minooka is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minooka
- Scranton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Milwaukee
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Milwaukee is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milwaukee
- Dunmore
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Green Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Green Ridge is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Ridge
- Spring Brook
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Brook is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Brook
- Throop
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Carbon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spike Island, with the one closest to Spike Island listed first.
- East Side
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- East Side is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Side
- Population from the 2020 Census: 301 people
- Albrightsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Leslie Run
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Leslie Run is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leslie Run
- Mud Run
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Mud Run is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mud Run
- Meckesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Meckesville is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meckesville
- Unionville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Unionville is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Penn Haven Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Penn Haven Junction is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn Haven Junction
- Weatherly
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Beaver Meadows
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Coxes Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Coxes Village is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coxes Village
- Coxes Village has also been known as:
- Cross Village
- Hudsondale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Hudsondale is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudsondale
- Luzerne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spike Island, with the one closest to Spike Island listed first.
- Avoca
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Houston City
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Houston City is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston City
- Langdon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Langdon is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langdon
- Dupont
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Duryea
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Hughestown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hughestown is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughestown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,356 people
- Pittston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Yatesville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Yatesville is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yatesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
- West Pittston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Laflin
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Laflin is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laflin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,435 people
- Exeter
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Port Blanchard
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Port Blanchard is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Blanchard
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spike Island, with the one closest to Spike Island listed first.
- Locust Lakes Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Locust Lakes Village is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Lakes Village
- Mount Pocono
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Tobyhanna
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pocono Pines
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pocono Summit
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Long Pond
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mountainhome
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Paradise Valley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Paradise Valley is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Valley
- McMichael
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- McMichael is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMichael
- Parkside
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Parkside is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkside
- Reeders
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pike County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spike Island, with the one closest to Spike Island listed first.
- Ledgedale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Ledgedale is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledgedale
- South Sterling
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- La Anna
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- La Anna is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Anna
- Panther
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Panther is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
- Paupack
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Tafton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Wilsonville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Wilsonville is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonville
- Blooming Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Blooming Grove is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blooming Grove
- Susquehanna County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spike Island, with the one closest to Spike Island listed first.
- Lenoxville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Lenoxville is located in Susquehanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenoxville
- Royal
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Royal is located in Susquehanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Hop Bottom
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Forest City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- South Gibson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Springville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Tyler
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Tyler is located in Susquehanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyler
- Kingsley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Union Dale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Auburn Four Corners
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Auburn Four Corners is located in Susquehanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn Four Corners
- Elk Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Elk Lake is located in Susquehanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Lake
- Wayne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spike Island, with the one closest to Spike Island listed first.
- Hollisterville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Hollisterville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollisterville
- Maplewood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Maplewood is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
- Sterling
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Tresslarville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Tresslarville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tresslarville
- South Canaan
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- South Canaan is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Canaan
- Waymart
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Forest City Station
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Forest City Station is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City Station
- Keen
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Keen is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keen
- Uswick
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Uswick is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uswick
- Prompton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Prompton is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prompton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
- Aldenville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Aldenville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldenville
- Wyoming County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spike Island, with the one closest to Spike Island listed first.
- Lake Winola
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- South Eaton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- South Eaton is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Eaton
- Vernon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Vernon is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Mill City ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Mill City is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill City
- Osterhout
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Osterhout is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osterhout
- Beaumont
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Beaumont is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaumont
- Factoryville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Jenks
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jenks is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenks
- Dixon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dixon is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Evans Falls
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Evans Falls is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans Falls
- Tunkhannock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Marcy
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Marcy is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcy
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Spike Island, see our County-by-County Page for Spike Island.
Cemeteries Near Spike Island ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spike Island.
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 Spike Island - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Spike Island covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Spike Island, with the one closest to Spike Island listed first.
- Slavic Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Old Forge Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Marcy Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Polish National Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Scranton.
- The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Cemetery has also been known as:
- Minooka Polish Cemetery
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #412152 <2>
- St. Stanislaus Polish National Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Stanislaus Polish National Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Stanislaus Polish National Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Scranton.
- The St. Stanislaus Polish National Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Stanislaus Cathedral PNCC Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #641328 <2>
- Italian American Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- St. Josephs RC Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Josephs RC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Josephs RC Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Scranton.
- The St. Josephs RC Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Josephs Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1964856 <2>
- St. Mary's Greek Catholic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- St. Vladimirs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- St. Johns the Baptist Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Continue List (240 more) ...
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- St. Michaels Byzantine Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
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 Spike Island in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Spike Island.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Spike Island, with the one closest to Spike Island listed first.
- Avoca
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Moosic
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Old Forge
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Dupont
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Minooka
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Minooka is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minooka
- West Pittston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Pittston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Yatesville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Yatesville is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yatesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
- Harding
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Harding is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harding
- Exeter
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Port Griffith
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Port Griffith is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Griffith
- Sebastopol
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Sebastopol is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sebastopol
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Laflin
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Laflin is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laflin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,435 people
- Scranton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Milwaukee
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Milwaukee is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milwaukee
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Spike Island. See our List of 1890's Communities around Spike Island.
Newspapers Published in Spike Island ...
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 89 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spike Island.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Spike Island, 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 Spike Island.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Spike Island:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Lackawanna County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carbon County
- Luzerne County
- Monroe County
- Pike County
- Susquehanna County
- Wayne County
- Wyoming 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 Spike Island, 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- Spike Island) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |