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 Trafford (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 Trafford. 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.
Trafford is primarily located in Westmoreland County. A portion of Trafford extends into Allegheny 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 Trafford. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Trafford:
- Westmoreland County (The home county of Trafford)
- The following are listed by their distance from Trafford, with the one closest to Trafford listed first.
- Murrysville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Larimer
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Larimer is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larimer
- Irwin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,716 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwin <1>
- North Irwin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- North Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Harrison City
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Manor
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Manor is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,322 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manor <1>
- Shafton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Shafton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shafton
- Westmoreland City
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Westmoreland City is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmoreland City
- Export
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Franklin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Franklin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Rillton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Adamsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Adamsburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Trafford, with the one closest to Trafford listed first.
- Pitcairn
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Wall
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Wall is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
- East McKeesport
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Monroeville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- North Versailles
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Wilmerding
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Garden City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Garden City is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Riverton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Riverton is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
- Chalfant
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Chalfant is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalfant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 765 people
- East Pittsburgh
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- North Braddock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- North Braddock is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Braddock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,635 people
- Turtle Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Trafford, with the one closest to Trafford listed first.
- Apollo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Edmon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- Orchard Hills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- Leechburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- North Apollo
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Freeport
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Spring Church
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Aladdin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
- Olivet
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Olivet is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- McVille
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- McVille is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
- Cochrans Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Cochrans Mills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mills
- Neale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Neale is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
- Beaver County
- The following are listed by their distance from Trafford, with the one closest to Trafford listed first.
- Ambridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- South Heights
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- South Heights is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 437 people
- Economy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Economy is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Economy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,022 people
- Gringo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gringo is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gringo
- Aliquippa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Baden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Crestmont Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Crestmont Village is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestmont Village
- Wallace City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wallace City is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace City
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Trafford, with the one closest to Trafford listed first.
- Ekastown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Ekastown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
- Monroe
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Monroe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Valencia
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Glade Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Glade Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
- Leasureville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Leasureville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leasureville
- Frazier Mill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Frazier Mill is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Mill
- Saxonburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Mars
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Seven Fields
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Seven Fields is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Fields
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,740 people
- Dennys Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Dennys Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennys Mills
- Fox Run
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fox Run is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Run
- Myoma
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Myoma is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myoma
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Trafford, with the one closest to Trafford listed first.
- Banning
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Banning is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Belle Vernon
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Lynnwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Lynnwood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood
- Arnold City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Arnold City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold City
- Fairhope
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Fairhope is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhope
- Whitsett
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Whitsett is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
- Brownstown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Brownstown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
- Fayette City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Fayette City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
- Fuller
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Fuller is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Lynn
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Lynn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Perryopolis
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Redstone
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Redstone is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Trafford, with the one closest to Trafford listed first.
- White
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Bow
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Clarksburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Saltsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Blairsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- West Lebanon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- West Lebanon is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
- Jacksonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Aultman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Aultman is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aultman
- Parkwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Parkwood is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Black Lick
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Black Lick is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lick
- Josephine
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Josephine is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephine
- Palmertown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Trafford, with the one closest to Trafford listed first.
- Ellsworth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ellsworth is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Donora
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Black Diamond
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Black Diamond is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
- Gastonville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gastonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gastonville
- Monongahela
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Riverview
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Riverview is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Finleyville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Eagle
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Baidland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Baidland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baidland
- North Charleroi
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- North Charleroi is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Charleroi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,258 people
- Charleroi
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- McMurray
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Trafford, see our County-by-County Page for Trafford.
Cemeteries Near Trafford ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Trafford.
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 Trafford - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Trafford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Trafford, with the one closest to Trafford listed first.
- Fairview Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Grandview Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- St. Nicholas Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- New St. Joseph Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New St. Joseph Cemetery
- The New St. Joseph Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery
- St. Joseph Cemetery
- St. Josephs Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46108 <2>
- Penn Lincoln Memorial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Pennsylvania Lincoln Memorial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Old Brush Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Restland Memorial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Holy Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Crossroads Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (424 more) ...
- St. Patrick's Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Churchill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- St. Nicholas Cemetery
(5 miles [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 Trafford in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Trafford.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Trafford, with the one closest to Trafford listed first.
- Wall
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Wall is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
- Taylor
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Taylor is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor
- Ardara
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ardara is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardara
- Stewartsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Stewartsville is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartsville
- Murrysville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Monroeville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wilmerding
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Riverton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Riverton is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
- Circleville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Circleville is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Circleville
- Irwin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,716 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwin <1>
- Oakville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Oakville is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Turtle Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Greenock
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Greenock is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenock
- Emblem
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Emblem is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emblem
- Shafton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Shafton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shafton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Trafford. See our List of 1890's Communities around Trafford.
Newspapers Published in Trafford ...
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 88 newspapers that have been published in the area around Trafford.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Trafford, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Trafford.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Trafford:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Westmoreland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Armstrong County
- Beaver County
- Butler County
- Fayette County
- Indiana County
- Washington 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 Trafford, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Trafford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |