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 Sproul (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 Sproul. 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.
Sproul is located in Blair 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 Blair County: Bedford, Cambria, Centre & Huntingdon.
Below are the counties that are near Sproul. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sproul:
- Blair County (The home county of Sproul)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sproul, with the one closest to Sproul listed first.
- Claysburg
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Cotton Town
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Cotton Town is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Town
- Roaring Spring
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- East Sharpsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- East Sharpsburg is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sharpsburg
- Martinsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Brooks Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Brooks Mill is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks Mill
- Puzzletown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Puzzletown is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puzzletown
- Blue Knob
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Blue Knob is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Knob
- Newry
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Clover Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Clover Creek is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Creek
- Duncansville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Hollidaysburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sproul, with the one closest to Sproul listed first.
- King
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- King is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
- Maria
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Maria is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maria
- Pavia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Pavia is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavia
- New Enterprise
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- New Enterprise is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Enterprise
- Waterside
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Waterside is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterside
- Osterburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Salemville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Salemville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salemville
- Loysburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Woodbury
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Clairsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Saint Clairsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clairsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
- Marble City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Marble City is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble City
- Pleasantville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasantville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sproul, with the one closest to Sproul listed first.
- Puritan
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Puritan is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puritan
- Bens Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bens Creek is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bens Creek
- Scarlan Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Scarlan Hill is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scarlan Hill
- Beaverdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Beaverdale is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverdale
- Oil City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Oil City is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
- Portage
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sonman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sonman is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonman
- Spring Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Hill is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Dunlo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Dunlo is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlo
- Tunnelhill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Tunnelhill is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelhill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 327 people
- Cresson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Summit
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Summit is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sproul, with the one closest to Sproul listed first.
- Wells Tannery
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wells Tannery is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Tannery
- Valley-Hi
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Valley-Hi is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley-Hi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
- Waterfall
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Akersville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Akersville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akersville
- Crystal Spring
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Crystal Spring is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Spring
- Laidig
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Laidig is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laidig
- Clear Ridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Clear Ridge is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Ridge
- Emmaville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Emmaville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmaville
- Harrisonville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Harrisonville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisonville
- Fort Littleton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sipes Mill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sipes Mill is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipes Mill
- Pleasant Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Ridge is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sproul, with the one closest to Sproul listed first.
- Middletown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Middletown is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Coalmont
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Coalmont is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Entriken
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Dudley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Dudley is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
- Salter
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Salter is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salter
- Broad Top City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Broad Top City is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broad Top City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 443 people
- Marklesburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Marklesburg is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marklesburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 194 people
- Robertsdale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Robertsdale is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robertsdale
- Cooks
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Cooks is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks
- Todd
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Todd is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Todd
- Joller ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Joller is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joller
- Hesston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sproul, with the one closest to Sproul listed first.
- Rexis
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rexis is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rexis
- Wehrum
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wehrum is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wehrum
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sproul, with the one closest to Sproul listed first.
- Ogletown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Ogletown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogletown
- Windber
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Paint
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Paint is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint
- Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
- Central City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Forward
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Forward is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forward
- Tire Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Tire Hill is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tire Hill
- Benson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Benson is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
- Blough
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Blough is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blough
- Buckstown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Buckstown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckstown
- Davidsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Hollsopple
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Hooversville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Hooversville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooversville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 589 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sproul, see our County-by-County Page for Sproul.
Cemeteries Near Sproul ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sproul.
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 Sproul - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sproul covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sproul, with the one closest to Sproul listed first.
- Holsinger Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Stiefler Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Noggle Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Potter Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Replogle Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Kauffman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Keagy Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dry Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stowberger Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Stonerook Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Fairview Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Continue List (262 more) ...
- Burger Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Nicodemus Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Shriver Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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 Sproul in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sproul.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sproul, with the one closest to Sproul listed first.
- King
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- King is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
- Claysburg
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Queen
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Queen is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queen
- Bakers Summit
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Bakers Summit is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakers Summit
- Ore Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ore Hill is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ore Hill
- Maria
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Maria is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maria
- Roaring Spring
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Rodman
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Rodman is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodman
- Curryville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Curryville is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curryville
- East Sharpsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- East Sharpsburg is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sharpsburg
- McKee
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- McKee is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKee
- East Freedom
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Pavia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Pavia is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavia
- Osterburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- New Enterprise
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- New Enterprise is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Enterprise
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sproul. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sproul.
Newspapers Published in Sproul ...
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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sproul.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sproul, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sproul.
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 Sproul:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Blair County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford County
- Cambria County
- Fulton County
- Huntingdon County
- Indiana County
- Somerset 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 Sproul, 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- Sproul) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |