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 (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. 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 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.
Van is located in Venango 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 Venango County: Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Forest, Mercer & Warren.
Below are the counties that are near Van. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Van:
- Venango County (The home county of Van)
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Hill City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Hill City is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill City
- Nickleville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Nickleville is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickleville
- Cranberry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cranberry is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry
- Fertigs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fertigs is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertigs
- Seneca
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Coal Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Coal Hill is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Hill
- Siverly
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Siverly is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siverly
- Woodland Heights
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Woodland Heights is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Heights
- Emlenton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Colonial Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Colonial Village is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
- Oil City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Coal City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Coal City is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Parker
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Fredericksburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Fredericksburg is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredericksburg
- Queenstown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Queenstown is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queenstown
- Bradys Bend
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Bradys Bend is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradys Bend
- Kaylor
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Kaylor is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaylor
- Wattersonville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Wattersonville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattersonville
- Tidal
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Tidal is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tidal
- Rimer
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Rimer is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rimer
- Millville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Millville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
- South Bethlehem
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- South Bethlehem is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bethlehem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 443 people
- Deanville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Deanville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deanville
- Dee
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dee is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dee
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Cherry Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cherry Valley is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
- Eau Claire
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Murrinsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Murrinsville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murrinsville
- Bruin
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bruin is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 489 people
- Ferris
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Ferris is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferris
- Fairview
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Fairview is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 186 people
- Petrolia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Petrolia is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petrolia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Karns City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Harrisville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bovard
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Bovard is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bovard
- Forestville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Forestville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
- Branchton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Branchton is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchton
- Clarion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Lamartine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Lamartine is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamartine
- Pine City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Pine City is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine City
- Beaver City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Beaver City is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver City
- Knox
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Venus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Venus is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venus
- Monroe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Monroe is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Turkey City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Turkey City is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey City
- Elk City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Elk City is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk City
- Iron City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Iron City is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Jefferson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Alum Rock
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Alum Rock is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alum Rock
- Saint Petersburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Gresham
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Gresham is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
- Titusville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Deckard
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Deckard is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deckard
- Black Ash
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Black Ash is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Ash
- Hydetown
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Hydetown is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hydetown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people
- Fauncetown
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Fauncetown is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fauncetown
- Cochranton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Tryonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Tryonville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tryonville
- Frenchtown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Frenchtown is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchtown
- Guys Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Townville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Townville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
- Vrooman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Vrooman is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vrooman
- Elk County
- Millstone
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Millstone is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstone
- Forest County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Tionesta
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jamison
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jamison is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamison
- Fagundus
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Fagundus is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fagundus
- Trunkeyville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Trunkeyville is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trunkeyville
- Gilfoyle
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Gilfoyle is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilfoyle
- Redclyffe
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Redclyffe is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redclyffe
- Clarington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Roses
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Roses is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roses
- Marienville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Marienville is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marienville
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Ella
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Ella is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ella
- Corsica
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Corsica is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corsica
- Population from the 2020 Census: 342 people
- Howe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Howe is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
- Sigel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Summerville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Summerville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 501 people
- Baxter
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Baxter is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Ohl
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ohl is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohl
- Mercer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Kilgore
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Kilgore is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilgore
- North Sandy
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- North Sandy is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Sandy
- Perrine Corners
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Perrine Corners is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrine Corners
- Enterprise
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Enterprise is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- New Lebanon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- New Lebanon is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lebanon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Sandy Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Milledgeville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Milledgeville is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milledgeville
- Swamproot
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Swamproot is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swamproot
- Perrys Corners
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Perrys Corners is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrys Corners
- Stoneboro
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Courtneys Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Courtneys Mills is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Courtneys Mills
- Jackson Center
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Enterprise
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Enterprise is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Selkirk
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Selkirk is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selkirk
- Tidioute
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Van, see our County-by-County Page for Van.
Cemeteries Near Van ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Van.
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 - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Van covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Georgeville Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Schreffler Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- St. Catherines Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Valley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hickman Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Starr Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sunset Hill Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rockland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Farren Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bickle Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Craig Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (142 more) ...
- Zion United Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Salem Lutheran Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Phipps Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
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>
While we didn't find Van in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Van.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
- Nickleville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Nickleville is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickleville
- Cranberry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cranberry is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry
- Kossuth
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fertigs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fertigs is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertigs
- Seneca
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rockland
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Rockland is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
- Fern
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Fern is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern
- East Sandy
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- East Sandy is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sandy
- Pittsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pittsville is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsville
- Lamartine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Lamartine is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamartine
- Coal Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Coal Hill is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Hill
- Astral
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Astral is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astral
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Emlenton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Siverly
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Siverly is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siverly
- Mariasville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Van. See our List of 1890's Communities around Van.
Newspapers Published in Van ...
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 79 newspapers that have been published in the area around Van.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Van, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Van.
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 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:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Venango County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Armstrong County
- Butler County
- Clarion County
- Crawford County
- Elk County
- Forest County
- Jefferson County
- Mercer County
- Warren 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Van) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |