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 Torrance (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 Torrance. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Torrance is located in Westmoreland 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 Westmoreland County: Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Indiana & Somerset.
Below are the counties that are near Torrance. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Torrance:
- Westmoreland County (The home county of Torrance)
- The following are listed by their distance from Torrance, with the one closest to Torrance listed first.
- Burrell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Burrell is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrell
- Bolivar
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Livermore
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Livermore is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livermore
- West Fairfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- West Fairfield is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fairfield
- New Derry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Derry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Derry is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,495 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Derry <1>
- New Florence
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Robb
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Robb is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robb
- Oak Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Kingston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Kingston is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Latrobe
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- McChesneytown - Loyalhanna
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- New Alexandria
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Torrance, with the one closest to Torrance listed first.
- New Texas
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- New Texas is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Texas
- Plum
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Plum is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,993 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plum <1>
- Karns
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Karns is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karns
- Natrona
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Natrona is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natrona
- Sligo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sligo is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sligo
- Garden City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Garden City is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Leechburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Leechburg is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leechburg
- Monroeville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Pitcairn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Unity
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Unity is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity
- Wall
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Wall is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
- Brackenridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- East McKeesport
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Torrance, with the one closest to Torrance listed first.
- Olivet
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Olivet is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Edmon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- Spring Church
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Orchard Hills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- Elderton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- North Apollo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Apollo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cochrans Mills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cochrans Mills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mills
- Atwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Atwood is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
- Leechburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Whitesburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Whitesburg is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
- Blanco
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Blanco is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanco
- Tunnelville ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Tunnelville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelville
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Torrance, with the one closest to Torrance listed first.
- Wilmore
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Brownstown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Cambria City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Cambria City is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambria City
- Lilly
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Lilly is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 873 people
- Vintondale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Vintondale is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vintondale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 367 people
- Elim
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Elim is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elim
- Southmont
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Southmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,048 people
- Westmont
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Westmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,625 people
- Conemaugh
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Conemaugh is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conemaugh
- Johnstown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Daisytown
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Daisytown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisytown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 290 people
- East Conemaugh
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- East Conemaugh is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Conemaugh
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,090 people
- Dale
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Dale is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,110 people
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Torrance, with the one closest to Torrance listed first.
- Bear Rocks
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
- Laurelville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Laurelville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
- Champion
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- White
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- White is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Seven Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Indian Head
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Indian Head is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
- Everson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Everson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Torrance, with the one closest to Torrance listed first.
- Blairsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Robinson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Robinson is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
- Black Lick
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Black Lick is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lick
- Palmertown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Josephine
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Josephine is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephine
- Coral
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Graceton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Graceton is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graceton
- Heshbon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Heshbon is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heshbon
- Bow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Smathers
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Smathers is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smathers
- Homer City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Jacksonville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Claghorn ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Claghorn is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claghorn
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Torrance, with the one closest to Torrance listed first.
- Laurel Mountain Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Thomas Mill
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Thomas Mill is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Mill
- Davidsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Jennerstown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Jerome
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Jerome is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
- Tire Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Tire Hill is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tire Hill
- Jenners Crossroads
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jenners Crossroads is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners Crossroads
- Benson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Benson is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
- Hollsopple
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jenners
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jenners is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners
- Roytown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Roytown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roytown
- Blough
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Blough is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blough
- Paint
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Paint is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint
- Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Torrance, see our County-by-County Page for Torrance.
Cemeteries Near Torrance ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Torrance.
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 Torrance - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Torrance covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Torrance, with the one closest to Torrance listed first.
- Blairsville Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Westview Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Coles Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Coral Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coral Lutheran Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Coral Lutheran Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Coral.
- The Coral Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- Lutheran Chapel Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2129169 <2>
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Legat Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Kunkle Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- McIntire Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bethel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Smathers Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (259 more) ...
- Rose Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bethel Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Conemaugh Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
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 Torrance in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Torrance.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Torrance, with the one closest to Torrance listed first.
- Grays
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Grays is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays
- Cokeville ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Cokeville is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokeville
- Smith
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Smith is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith
- Blairsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Burrell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Burrell is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrell
- Hillside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hillside is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside
- Snyder
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Snyder is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
- Bolivar
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Millwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Millwood is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millwood
- Lockport
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Lockport is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockport
- New Derry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- West Fairfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- West Fairfield is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fairfield
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Graceton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Graceton is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graceton
- Livermore
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Livermore is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livermore
- Heshbon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Heshbon is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heshbon
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Torrance. See our List of 1890's Communities around Torrance.
Newspapers Published in Torrance ...
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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Torrance.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Torrance, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Torrance.
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 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 Torrance:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Westmoreland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Armstrong County
- Cambria County
- Fayette 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 Torrance, 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' (or 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- Torrance) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |