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 Vances Mill (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 Vances Mill. 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.
Name Variations for Vances Mill ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Vances Mill: Vances Ml. (or less commonly used: Vances Mll.)
- While the name of this community is Vances Mill, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Vances Mill may originally have been Vance's Mill.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Vances Mill might be written as Vance Mill.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 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.
Vances Mill is located in Fayette 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 Fayette County: Garrett (MD), Greene, Somerset, Washington, Westmoreland, Monongalia (WV) & Preston (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Vances Mill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Vances Mill:
- Fayette County (The home county of Vances Mill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vances Mill, with the one closest to Vances Mill listed first.
- Laurel Hill
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Laurel Hill is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
- Bitner
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bitner is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitner
- Waltersburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Waltersburg is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltersburg
- Oliver
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Oliver is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliver
- Uniontown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Evans
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Evans is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
- Mount Independence
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mount Independence is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Independence
- Leith
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Leith is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leith
- East Uniontown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- East Uniontown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Uniontown
- Lemont Furnace
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Uledi
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Uledi is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uledi
- Flatwoods
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Flatwoods is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
- Buffington
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Buffington is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffington
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vances Mill, with the one closest to Vances Mill listed first.
- Sunny Side
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Buena Vista
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Elizabeth
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- West Elizabeth
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Clairton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Lincoln
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Lincoln is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013 people
- Boston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Mendelssohn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Mendelssohn is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendelssohn
- Versailles
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Versailles is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Versailles
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,452 people
- Jefferson Hills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson Hills is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,136 people
- Jefferson Hills has also been known as:
- Jefferson
- Coal Valley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Coal Valley is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
- Liberty
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Liberty is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,438 people
- Cochrans Mill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cochrans Mill is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mill
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vances Mill, with the one closest to Vances Mill listed first.
- Nemacolin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Nemacolin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
- Stringtown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Stringtown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Carmichaels
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Cumberland Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Fairdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Fairdale is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Ceylon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ceylon is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Greensboro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rices Landing
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Clarksville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Khedive
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Khedive is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
- Dilliner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Dilliner is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilliner
- Chartiers
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Chartiers is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
- Jefferson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Jefferson is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vances Mill, with the one closest to Vances Mill listed first.
- Draketown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Draketown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
- Confluence
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ursina
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ursina is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Addison
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Listonburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Listonburg is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listonburg
- New Lexington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- New Lexington is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
- Bakersville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Bakersville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Casselman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Casselman is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casselman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Markleton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- New Centerville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- New Centerville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Centerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
- Lavansville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lavansville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavansville
- Rockwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vances Mill, with the one closest to Vances Mill listed first.
- Blainsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Blainsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsburg
- West Brownsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- West Brownsville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- California
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Speers
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Speers is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,061 people
- Allenport
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Coal Center
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Daisytown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Elco
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Elco is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
- Roscoe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Roscoe is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 791 people
- Stockdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dunlevy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Long Branch
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Long Branch is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Population from the 2020 Census: 431 people
- Deemston
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Deemston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deemston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 696 people
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vances Mill, with the one closest to Vances Mill listed first.
- Scottdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Smithton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Hawkeye
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- Alverton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Alverton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverton
- Iron Bridge
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
- West Overton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- West Overton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Overton
- Gibsonton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
- North Belle Vernon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- North Belle Vernon is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Belle Vernon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,842 people
- Monessen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Pleasant
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Webster
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Webster is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- West Newton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Mount Joy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Joy is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
- Garrett County (MD)
- Friendsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Monongalia County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vances Mill, with the one closest to Vances Mill listed first.
- Cheat Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
- Canyon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Canyon is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Baker Ridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Baker Ridge is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Ridge
- Bowlby
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bowlby is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlby
- Maidsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Maidsville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maidsville
- Star City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Star City is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,984 people
- Brookhaven
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Brookhaven is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
- Granville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Granville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,156 people
- Morgantown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Osage
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Osage is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
- Westover
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cassville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cassville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassville
- Laurel Point
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel Point is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Point
- Preston County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vances Mill, with the one closest to Vances Mill listed first.
- Clifton Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
- Brandonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Brandonville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Bruceton Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Little Sandy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Little Sandy is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandy
- Rockville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Rockville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Hazelton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Morgans Glade
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Morgans Glade is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Glade
- Lenox
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lenox is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
- Masontown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Orr
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Orr is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
- Reedsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Vances Mill, see our County-by-County Page for Vances Mill.
Cemeteries Near Vances Mill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vances Mill.
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 Vances Mill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Vances Mill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Vances Mill, with the one closest to Vances Mill listed first.
- County Home Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Calvary Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mt. St. Macrina Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Sylvan Heights Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan Heights Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Sylvan Heights Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<4> to the northeast of Uniontown.
- The Sylvan Heights Cemetery has also been known as:
- Sylvan Heights Memorial Gardens
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46449 <3>
- Laurel Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Lawn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Park Place Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lincoln Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Grace Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (357 more) ...
- Tomasza Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Josephs Cemetery (Hopwood)
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Hopwood.
- The St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. John Byzantine Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2170323 <3>
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.<5>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Vances Mill had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Vances Mill, with the one closest to Vances Mill listed first.
- Walker
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Walker is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
- West Leisenring
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- West Leisenring is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leisenring
- Laurel Hill
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Laurel Hill is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
- Upper Middletown
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Upper Middletown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Middletown
- Haddenville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Haddenville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haddenville
- Waltersburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Waltersburg is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltersburg
- Dearth
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Dearth is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dearth
- Uniontown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Evans
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Evans is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
- Rothruck
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rothruck is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rothruck
- Leith
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Leith is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leith
- Lemont Furnace
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Morgan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Morgan is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
- Percy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Percy is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Percy
- Mount Braddock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mount Braddock is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Braddock
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Vances Mill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Vances Mill.
Newspapers Published in Vances Mill ...
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 78 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vances Mill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Vances Mill, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Vances Mill.
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 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 Vances Mill:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Fayette County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Greene County
- Somerset County
- Washington County
- Westmoreland County
- Garrett County
- Monongalia County
- Preston County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Vances Mill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <5> | 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 Vances Mill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |