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 Sunshine (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 Sunshine. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Sunshine is located in Fayette 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 Fayette County: Garrett (MD), Greene, Somerset, Washington, Westmoreland, Monongalia (WV) & Preston (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Sunshine. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sunshine:
- Fayette County (The home county of Sunshine)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
- Fayette
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Fayette is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
- Masontown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Atlantic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Atlantic is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic
- New Geneva
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- New Geneva is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Geneva
- Woodside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Woodside is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside
- Winstead
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Winstead is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winstead
- Adah
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Adah is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adah
- Hoover
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Hoover is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover
- McClellandtown
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Puritan
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Puritan is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puritan
- Point Marion
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Morris Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Morris Crossroads is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris Crossroads
- Allegheny County
- Sunny Side
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
- Greensboro
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Nemacolin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Nemacolin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
- Ceylon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ceylon is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Dilliner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Dilliner is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilliner
- Fairdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Fairdale is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Stringtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Stringtown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Carmichaels
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Dunkard
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dunkard is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkard
- Khedive
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Khedive is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
- Fordyce
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Fordyce is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordyce
- Mount Morris
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
- Confluence
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Draketown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Draketown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
- Addison
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Ursina
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Ursina is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
- Fredericktown - Millsboro
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Millsboro
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Blainsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Blainsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsburg
- Deemston
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Deemston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deemston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 696 people
- Centerville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Centerville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,133 people
- West Brownsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- West Brownsville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Daisytown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Beallsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- California
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Coal Center
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Bissell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bissell is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bissell
- Marianna
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
- Gibsonton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
- North Belle Vernon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- North Belle Vernon is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Belle Vernon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,842 people
- Monessen
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Smithton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Webster
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Webster is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Scottdale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkeye
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- West Overton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- West Overton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Overton
- West Newton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Alverton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Alverton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverton
- Iron Bridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
- Wyano
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wyano is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyano
- Garrett County (MD)
- Friendsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Marion County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
- Hoodsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hoodsville is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoodsville
- Pleasant View
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant View is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Mount Harmony
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Mount Harmony is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Harmony
- Grant Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Grant Town is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Population from the 2020 Census: 590 people
- Rivesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Estimated population in 2021: 373 people
- Canton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Canton is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Barrackville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Barrackville is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrackville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,270 people
- Fairmont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Garden Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Garden Village is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Village
- Katy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Katy is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katy
- Palatine
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Palatine is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palatine
- Monongalia County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
- Bowlby
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bowlby is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlby
- Maidsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Maidsville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maidsville
- Baker Ridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Baker Ridge is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Ridge
- Canyon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Canyon is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Cheat Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
- Star City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Star City is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,984 people
- Osage
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Osage is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
- Granville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Granville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,156 people
- Westover
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Morgantown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Cassville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cassville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassville
- Brookhaven
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Brookhaven is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
- Preston County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
- Clifton Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
- Rockville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rockville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Brandonville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Brandonville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Bruceton Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Masontown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Little Sandy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Little Sandy is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandy
- Arthurdale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Reedsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Morgans Glade
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Morgans Glade is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Glade
- Hazelton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Gladesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Gladesville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesville
- Lenox
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lenox is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
- Wetzel County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
- Round Bottom
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Round Bottom is located in Wetzel County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
- Hundred
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sunshine, see our County-by-County Page for Sunshine.
Cemeteries Near Sunshine ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sunshine.
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 Sunshine - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sunshine covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
- Monongahela Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Ache Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Donham Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Cedar Grove Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Atlantic.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44539 <2>
- Green Dale Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- South Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Williamson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Garrison Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Alexander Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Greene Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Moriah Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (444 more) ...
- St. Agnes Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hanna 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 Sunshine in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sunshine.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
- Fayette
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Fayette is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
- Mapletown
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Mapletown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapletown
- New Geneva
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- New Geneva is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Geneva
- Old Frame
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Old Frame is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Frame
- Masontown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Wiley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wiley is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiley
- Winstead
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Winstead is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winstead
- Woodside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Woodside is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside
- Paisley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Paisley is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paisley
- Dilliner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Dilliner is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilliner
- Ceylon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ceylon is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Point Marion
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Morris Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Morris Crossroads is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris Crossroads
- Smithfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- McClellandtown
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sunshine. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sunshine.
Newspapers Published in Sunshine ...
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 7 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sunshine.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sunshine, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sunshine.
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 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 Sunshine:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Fayette County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Greene County
- Somerset County
- Washington County
- Westmoreland County
- Garrett County
- Marion County
- Monongalia County
- Preston County
- Wetzel 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 Sunshine, 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- Sunshine) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |