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 Vandyke (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 Vandyke. 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 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.
Vandyke 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 Vandyke. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Vandyke:
- Juniata County (The home county of Vandyke)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandyke, with the one closest to Vandyke listed first.
- Locust Run
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Locust Run is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Run
- Thompsontown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mexico
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Mexico is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
- Port Royal
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mifflintown
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Old Port
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Old Port is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Port
- Mifflin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mifflin is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
- McAlisterville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Swales
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Swales is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swales
- Seven Stars
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Seven Stars is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
- Doyles Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Doyles Mills is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyles Mills
- Knousetown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Knousetown is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knousetown
- Richfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Allegheny County
- Bloomfield
(9 miles [14.5 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 Vandyke, with the one closest to Vandyke listed first.
- Ingleby
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Ingleby is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleby
- Coburn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Zerby
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Zerby is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zerby
- Woodward
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Fruittown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fruittown is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruittown
- Potters Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Potters Mills is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potters Mills
- Aaronsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Fiedler
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Fiedler is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiedler
- Millheim
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Penn Hall
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Penn Hall is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn Hall
- Spring Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Centre Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Centre Hill is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre Hill
- Centre Hall
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandyke, with the one closest to Vandyke listed first.
- Caprivi
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Caprivi is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caprivi
- Schlusser
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Schlusser is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schlusser
- Plainfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Middlesex
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Middlesex is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesex
- Bears Crossroads
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bears Crossroads is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bears Crossroads
- Carlisle
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- New Kingstown
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Good Hope
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Good Hope is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
- Westwood Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Westwood Village is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
- Washington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Washington is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington
- Newville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Enola
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mechanicsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Dauphin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandyke, with the one closest to Vandyke listed first.
- Millersburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Halifax
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Paxton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Paxton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
- Fisherville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Fisherville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisherville
- Rife
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Rife is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rife
- Dauphin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Enders
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Enders is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enders
- Fort Hunter
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Hunter is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Hunter
- Stone Glen
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Stone Glen is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Glen
- Enterline
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Enterline is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterline
- Berrysburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Elizabethville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lucknow
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lucknow is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucknow
- Franklin County
- Concord
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Concord is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandyke, with the one closest to Vandyke listed first.
- Blairs Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Blairs Mills is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairs Mills
- Ennisville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Ennisville is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennisville
- Mifflin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandyke, with the one closest to Vandyke listed first.
- Paintersville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Paintersville is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paintersville
- Alfarata
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Alfarata is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfarata
- Burnham
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Highland Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Highland Park is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
- Juniata Terrace
(15 miles [24.1 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
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Lewistown Junction is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewistown Junction
- Lewistown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Yeagertown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Honey Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Honey Creek is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Lumber City
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Lumber City is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumber City
- Reedsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Anderson is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Kishacoquillas
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Kishacoquillas is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kishacoquillas
- Northumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandyke, with the one closest to Vandyke listed first.
- Malta
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Malta is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
- Herndon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mandata
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mandata is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandata
- Asherton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Asherton is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asherton
- Selinsgrove Junction
(30 miles [48.3 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 Vandyke, with the one closest to Vandyke listed first.
- Eshcol
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Eshcol is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eshcol
- Ickesburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ickesburg is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ickesburg
- Millerstown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Elliottsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Elliottsburg is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliottsburg
- Blain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Newport
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Reward
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Reward is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reward
- Bailey
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Bailey is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Alinda
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Alinda is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alinda
- Mecks Corner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mecks Corner is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mecks Corner
- Bixler
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bixler is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixler
- Kistler
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kistler is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
- Centre
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Centre is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre
- Snyder County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandyke, with the one closest to Vandyke listed first.
- McClure
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Bannerville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Bannerville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bannerville
- Beaver Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Beaver Springs is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Springs
- Middle Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Middle Creek is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Creek
- Beavertown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Benfer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Benfer is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benfer
- Troxelville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Troxelville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troxelville
- Aline
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Aline is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aline
- Mount Pleasant Mills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Paxtonville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Paxtonville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxtonville
- Shadle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Shadle is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadle
- Coon Hunter
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Coon Hunter is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Hunter
- Hoffer
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hoffer is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoffer
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandyke, with the one closest to Vandyke listed first.
- Cherry Run
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Cherry Run is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Run
- Pardee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Pardee is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardee
- Glen Iron
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Glen Iron is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Iron
- Laurelton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Laurelton is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelton
- Millmont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Hartleton
(26 miles [41.8 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
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- New Berlin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Vandyke, see our County-by-County Page for Vandyke.
Cemeteries Near Vandyke ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vandyke.
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 Vandyke - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Vandyke covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Vandyke, with the one closest to Vandyke listed first.
- Locust Run Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- 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>
- Bull Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Kilmer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Lantz Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Adams Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bookwalter Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- 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.
- Eshcol Memorial Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Diven Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Church Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Thompson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Thompson's Lock Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- 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>
- Continue List (164 more) ...
- Rothrock Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Union Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Lost Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
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 in 1895, Vandyke had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Vandyke, with the one closest to Vandyke listed first.
- Tuscarora
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Tuscarora is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuscarora
- Donnally Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Donnally Mills is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnally Mills
- Thompsontown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Van Wert
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Van Wert is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Wert
- Mexico
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Mexico is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
- Port Royal
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Oakland Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Oakland Mills is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Mills
- Eshcol
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Eshcol is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eshcol
- Mifflintown
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Ickesburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ickesburg is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ickesburg
- Roseburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Roseburg is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseburg
- East Salem
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- East Salem is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Salem
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Mifflin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mifflin is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
- Mannsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mannsville is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mannsville
- Wahneta
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Wahneta is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahneta
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Vandyke. See our List of 1890's Communities around Vandyke.
Newspapers Published in Vandyke ...
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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vandyke.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Vandyke, 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 Vandyke.
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 Vandyke:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Juniata County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Centre County
- Cumberland County
- Dauphin County
- Franklin 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Vandyke) 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 Vandyke, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |