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 Van Wert (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 Van Wert. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Van Wert is located in Juniata 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 Juniata County: Huntingdon, Mifflin, Northumberland, Perry & Snyder.
Below are the counties that are near Van Wert. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Van Wert:
- Juniata County (The home county of Van Wert)
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Wert, with the one closest to Van Wert listed first.
- Locust Run
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Locust Run is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Run
- Thompsontown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- McAlisterville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Mexico
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mexico is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
- Port Royal
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mifflin
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mifflin is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
- Mifflintown
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Swales
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Swales is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swales
- Old Port
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Old Port is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Port
- Seven Stars
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Seven Stars is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
- Knousetown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Knousetown is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knousetown
- Richfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Allegheny County
- Bloomfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bloomfield is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,255 people
- Centre County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Wert, with the one closest to Van Wert listed first.
- Ingleby
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Ingleby is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleby
- Woodward
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Coburn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Zerby
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Zerby is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zerby
- Fiedler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Fiedler is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiedler
- Potters Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Potters Mills is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potters Mills
- Aaronsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Fruittown
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Fruittown is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruittown
- Millheim
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Penn Hall
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Penn Hall is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn Hall
- Spring Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Centre Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Centre Hill is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre Hill
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Wert, with the one closest to Van Wert listed first.
- Tylersville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Tylersville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tylersville
- Greenburr
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Greenburr is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenburr
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Wert, with the one closest to Van Wert listed first.
- Caprivi
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Caprivi is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caprivi
- Schlusser
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Schlusser is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schlusser
- Middlesex
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Middlesex is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesex
- Bears Crossroads
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Bears Crossroads is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bears Crossroads
- Carlisle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Plainfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- New Kingstown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Westwood Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Westwood Village is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
- Washington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Washington is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington
- Enola
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Good Hope
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Good Hope is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
- Newville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Dauphin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Wert, with the one closest to Van Wert listed first.
- Millersburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Paxton
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Paxton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
- Halifax
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Rife
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Rife is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rife
- Fisherville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Fisherville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisherville
- Enders
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Enders is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enders
- Dauphin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Berrysburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Elizabethville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Enterline
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Enterline is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterline
- Stone Glen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Stone Glen is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Glen
- Fort Hunter
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Hunter is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Hunter
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Wert, with the one closest to Van Wert listed first.
- Ennisville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Ennisville is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennisville
- Blairs Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Blairs Mills is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairs Mills
- Mifflin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Wert, with the one closest to Van Wert listed first.
- Paintersville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Paintersville is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paintersville
- Alfarata
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Alfarata is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfarata
- Burnham
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Highland Park
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Highland Park is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
- Juniata Terrace
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Juniata Terrace is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniata Terrace
- Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
- Lewistown Junction
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Lewistown Junction is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewistown Junction
- Lewistown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Honey Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Honey Creek is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Yeagertown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Lumber City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Lumber City is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumber City
- Reedsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Milroy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Northumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Wert, with the one closest to Van Wert listed first.
- Malta
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Malta is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
- Herndon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Mandata
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Mandata is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandata
- Asherton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Asherton is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asherton
- Selinsgrove Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Selinsgrove Junction is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selinsgrove Junction
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Wert, with the one closest to Van Wert listed first.
- Millerstown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Eshcol
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Eshcol is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eshcol
- Ickesburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Ickesburg is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ickesburg
- Reward
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Reward is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reward
- Newport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Blain
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pfoutz Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Pfoutz Valley is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pfoutz Valley
- Elliottsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Elliottsburg is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliottsburg
- Bailey
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bailey is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Bixler
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Bixler is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixler
- Mecks Corner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mecks Corner is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mecks Corner
- Kistler
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Kistler is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
- Snyder County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Wert, with the one closest to Van Wert listed first.
- McClure
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bannerville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Bannerville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bannerville
- Beaver Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Beaver Springs is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Springs
- Middle Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Middle Creek is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Creek
- Benfer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Benfer is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benfer
- Beavertown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Troxelville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Troxelville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troxelville
- Aline
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Aline is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aline
- Mount Pleasant Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Paxtonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Paxtonville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxtonville
- Coon Hunter
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Coon Hunter is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Hunter
- Shadle
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Shadle is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadle
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Wert, with the one closest to Van Wert listed first.
- Cherry Run
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Cherry Run is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Run
- Pardee
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Pardee is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardee
- Glen Iron
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Glen Iron is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Iron
- Laurelton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Laurelton is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelton
- Millmont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Hartleton
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Hartleton is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
- Mifflinburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- New Berlin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Red Bank
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Red Bank is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Dry Valley Crossroads
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Van Wert, see our County-by-County Page for Van Wert.
Cemeteries Near Van Wert ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Van Wert.
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 Van Wert - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Van Wert covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Van Wert, with the one closest to Van Wert listed first.
- Lantz Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Adams Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Locust Run Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Run Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Locust Run Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Locust Run.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45311 <2>
- Diven Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Cedar Grove Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the east of Mifflintown.
- Bookwalter Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lost Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Rothrock Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Thompson's Lock Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson's Lock Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Thompson's Lock Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Thompsontown.
- The Thompson's Lock Cemetery has also been known as:
- Thompson Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46466 <2>
- Thompson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hillside Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Union Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (141 more) ...
- Kilmer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bull Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Koons Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Van Wert had a population of 431 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Van Wert, with the one closest to Van Wert listed first.
- Oakland Mills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Oakland Mills is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Mills
- Vandyke
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Vandyke is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandyke
- Thompsontown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- East Salem
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- East Salem is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Salem
- McAlisterville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Mexico
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mexico is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
- Tuscarora
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Tuscarora is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuscarora
- Port Royal
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Donnally Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Donnally Mills is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnally Mills
- Maze
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Maze is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maze
- Mifflin
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mifflin is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
- Mifflintown
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Cocolamus
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cocolamus is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cocolamus
- Swales
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Swales is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swales
- Millerstown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Van Wert. See our List of 1890's Communities around Van Wert.
Newspapers Published in Van Wert ...
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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Van Wert.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Van Wert, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Van Wert.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Van Wert:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Juniata County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Centre County
- Clinton County
- Cumberland County
- Dauphin County
- Huntingdon County
- Mifflin County
- Northumberland County
- Perry County
- Snyder County
- Union 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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Van Wert) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Van Wert, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |