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 Sykesville (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 Sykesville. 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 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.
Sykesville is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Armstrong, Clarion, Clearfield, Elk, Forest & Indiana.
Below are the counties that are near Sykesville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sykesville:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Sykesville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sykesville, with the one closest to Sykesville listed first.
- Prescottville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Prescottville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescottville
- Reynoldsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wishaw
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Wishaw is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wishaw
- Pancoast
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Pancoast is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pancoast
- Falls Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Sandy Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sandy Valley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Valley
- Panic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Panic is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panic
- Red Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Red Mill is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mill
- Winslow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Winslow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winslow
- Albion
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Albion is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Fuller
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Fuller is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Punxsutawney
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sykesville, with the one closest to Sykesville listed first.
- McWilliams
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- McWilliams is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McWilliams
- Dayton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Eddyville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Eddyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddyville
- Millville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Millville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
- Barnards
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Barnards is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnards
- Putneyville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Putneyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putneyville
- South Bethlehem
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- South Bethlehem is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bethlehem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 443 people
- Bryan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bryan is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
- Echo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Echo is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
- Muff
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Muff is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muff
- Atwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Atwood is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sykesville, with the one closest to Sykesville listed first.
- Garmantown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Garmantown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garmantown
- Barnesboro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Barnesboro is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnesboro
- West Branch
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- West Branch is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Branch
- Hastings
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Northern Cambria
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Northern Cambria is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northern Cambria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,456 people
- Flinton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Spangler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Spangler is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spangler
- Thomas Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Thomas Mills is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Mills
- Patton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Saint Benedict
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Saint Benedict is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Benedict
- Nicktown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Nicktown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicktown
- Fallentimber
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Clarion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sykesville, with the one closest to Sykesville listed first.
- Crates
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Crates is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crates
- Day
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Day is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Day
- Hawthorn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Fairmont City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Waterson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Waterson is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterson
- Frogtown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Frogtown is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frogtown
- New Bethlehem
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Mechanicsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Mechanicsville is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
- Cooksburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Brinkerton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Brinkerton is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brinkerton
- Strattanville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Leatherwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Leatherwood is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Clearfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sykesville, with the one closest to Sykesville listed first.
- Stanley
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Stanley is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
- Helvetia
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Helvetia is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helvetia
- Troutville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Troutville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troutville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Sandy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sandy is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
- Luthersburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- DuBois
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Laborde
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Laborde is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laborde
- Rockton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Rockton is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockton
- Treasure Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Treasure Lake is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Treasure Lake
- Curry Run
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Curry Run is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curry Run
- Grampian
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bower
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bower is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bower
- Elk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sykesville, with the one closest to Sykesville listed first.
- Brockport
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Challenge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Challenge is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Challenge
- Horton City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Horton City is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton City
- Shawmut
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Shawmut is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawmut
- Kylers Corners
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Kylers Corners is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kylers Corners
- Scattertown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Scattertown is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scattertown
- Lake City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Byrnedale
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Dagus Mines
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Dagus Mines is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dagus Mines
- Hallton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Hallton is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallton
- Caledonia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Caledonia is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
- Millstone
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Millstone is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstone
- Forest County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sykesville, with the one closest to Sykesville listed first.
- Clarington
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Redclyffe
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Redclyffe is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redclyffe
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sykesville, with the one closest to Sykesville listed first.
- Johnsonburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Johnsonburg is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonburg
- Rossiter
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Urey
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Urey is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urey
- Glen Campbell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Marchand
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Marchand is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marchand
- Hooverhurst
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Hooverhurst is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooverhurst
- Trade City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Trade City is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trade City
- Rochester Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Rochester Mills is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester Mills
- Savan
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Savan is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savan
- Mottarns Mill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mottarns Mill is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mottarns Mill
- Hillsdale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hillsdale is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Georgeville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Georgeville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgeville
- Lawrence County
- Big Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Big Run is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Population from the 2020 Census: 594 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sykesville, see our County-by-County Page for Sykesville.
Cemeteries Near Sykesville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sykesville.
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 Sykesville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sykesville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sykesville, with the one closest to Sykesville listed first.
- Shaffer Memorial Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Holy Trinity Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Soldier Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Prospect Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Union Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Salem Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Salem UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem UMC Cemetery
- The Salem UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- New Salem Cemetery
- Salem Methodist Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46287 <2>
- Beulah Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Reynoldsville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lakelawn Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rumbarger Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Catherines Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (167 more) ...
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Marys Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Marys Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Reynoldsville.
- The St. Marys Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1111986 <2>
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Sykesville had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Sykesville had a population of 1,107 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sykesville, with the one closest to Sykesville listed first.
- Stanley
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Stanley is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
- Cramer
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Cramer is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cramer
- Troutville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Troutville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troutville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Helvetia
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Helvetia is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helvetia
- Rathmel
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Rathmel is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rathmel
- Prescottville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Prescottville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescottville
- Reynoldsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pancoast
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Pancoast is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pancoast
- Luthersburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- DuBois
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Big Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Big Run is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Population from the 2020 Census: 594 people
- Sandy Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sandy Valley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Valley
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Falls Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Panic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Panic is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panic
- Anita
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Anita is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anita
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sykesville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sykesville.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Sykesville ...
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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sykesville.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Sykesville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Sykesville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Sykesville.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4> of Sykesville.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Sykesville:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Armstrong County
- Cambria County
- Clarion County
- Clearfield County
- Elk County
- Forest County
- Indiana County
- Lawrence 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 Sykesville, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Sykesville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |