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 Wakena (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 Wakena. 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 and 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.
Wakena is located in Westmoreland 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 Wakena. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wakena:
- Westmoreland County (The home county of Wakena)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wakena, with the one closest to Wakena listed first.
- Avonmore
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Salina
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Slickville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Slickville is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slickville
- Nihil
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Nihil is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nihil
- North Washington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- North Washington is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Washington
- Congruity
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Congruity is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congruity
- New Alexandria
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Delmont
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Livermore
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Livermore is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livermore
- Oklahoma
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Oklahoma is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oklahoma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 739 people
- Crabtree
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- East Vandergrift
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- East Vandergrift is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Vandergrift
- Population from the 2020 Census: 631 people
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wakena, with the one closest to Wakena listed first.
- Plum
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Plum is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,993 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plum <1>
- Leechburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Leechburg is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leechburg
- New Texas
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- New Texas is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Texas
- Brackenridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Karns
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Karns is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karns
- Natrona
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Natrona is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natrona
- Sligo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sligo is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sligo
- Garden City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Garden City is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Unity
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Unity is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity
- Monroeville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Pitcairn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Springdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wakena, with the one closest to Wakena listed first.
- Edmon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- Orchard Hills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- Olivet
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Olivet is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Apollo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- North Apollo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Church
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Leechburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cochrans Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Cochrans Mills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mills
- Neale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Neale is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
- Tunnelville ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Tunnelville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelville
- Elderton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Aladdin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wakena, with the one closest to Wakena listed first.
- Monroe
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Ekastown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ekastown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
- Leasureville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Leasureville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leasureville
- Dennys Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Dennys Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennys Mills
- Saxonburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Frazier Mill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Frazier Mill is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Mill
- Great Belt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Great Belt is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Belt
- Glade Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Glade Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
- Fenelton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Herman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Valencia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wakena, with the one closest to Wakena listed first.
- Wilmore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Vintondale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Vintondale is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vintondale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 367 people
- Brownstown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Cambria City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Cambria City is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambria City
- Lilly
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lilly is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 873 people
- Westmont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Westmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,625 people
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wakena, with the one closest to Wakena listed first.
- Laurelville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Laurelville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
- Bear Rocks
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
- Everson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Everson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
- Champion
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- White
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- White is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Banning
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Banning is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Fuller
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fuller is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Lynn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lynn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Whitsett
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Whitsett is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wakena, with the one closest to Wakena listed first.
- White
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Bow
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Clarksburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Saltsburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- West Lebanon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- West Lebanon is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
- Jacksonville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Blairsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Aultman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Aultman is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aultman
- Parkwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Parkwood is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Black Lick
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Black Lick is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lick
- Smathers
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Smathers is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smathers
- Shelocta
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Somerset County
- Laurel Mountain Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wakena, with the one closest to Wakena listed first.
- Donora
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Black Diamond
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Black Diamond is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
- Ellsworth
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ellsworth is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Monongahela
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Riverview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Riverview is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wakena, see our County-by-County Page for Wakena.
Cemeteries Near Wakena ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wakena.
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 Wakena - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wakena covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wakena, with the one closest to Wakena listed first.
- West View Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Edgewood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Townsend Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townsend Family Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Townsend Family Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the north of Edmon.
- The Townsend Family Cemetery has also been known as:
- Townsend Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46481 <2>
- Beulah Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Maysville Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Twin Valley Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- East View Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- East View Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Union Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Conemaugh Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Craig Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Union Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (349 more) ...
- Olivet Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Riverview Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- St. Gertrude Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
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 Wakena in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wakena.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wakena, with the one closest to Wakena listed first.
- Salina
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Avonmore
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- White
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Nowrytown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Nowrytown is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nowrytown
- Nihil
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Nihil is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nihil
- Tunnelton
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Tunnelton is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelton
- Congruity
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Congruity is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congruity
- Bow
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Clarksburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- North Washington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- North Washington is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Washington
- Delmont
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- New Alexandria
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Elders Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Elders Ridge is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elders Ridge
- Olivet
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Olivet is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Apollo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wakena. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wakena.
Newspapers Published in Wakena ...
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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wakena.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wakena, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wakena.
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 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 Wakena:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Westmoreland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Armstrong County
- Butler County
- Cambria County
- Fayette County
- Indiana County
- Somerset 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Wakena) 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 Wakena, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |