Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Watsondale. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Watsondale to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Watsondale, please Contact Us.
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 Watsondale (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 Watsondale. 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 and 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Watsondale is historic, it would have been located within present day 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 Watsondale. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Watsondale:
- Fayette County (The home county of Watsondale)
- The following are listed by their distance from Watsondale, with the one closest to Watsondale listed first.
- Markleysburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Farmington
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Washington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Washington is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Washington
- Ohiopyle
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Elliottsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Elliottsville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliottsville
- Hopwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hutchinson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hutchinson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchinson
- Lemont Furnace
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Independence
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Independence is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Independence
- East Uniontown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- East Uniontown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Uniontown
- Evans
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Evans is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
- Haydentown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Haydentown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haydentown
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watsondale, with the one closest to Watsondale listed first.
- Dilliner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Dilliner is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilliner
- Greensboro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Nemacolin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Nemacolin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watsondale, with the one closest to Watsondale listed first.
- Ursina
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ursina is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Addison
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Listonburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Listonburg is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listonburg
- Confluence
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Draketown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Draketown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
- Markleton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Casselman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Casselman is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casselman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- West Salisbury
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- West Salisbury is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salisbury
- Coal Run
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Coal Run is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Run
- Salisbury
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- New Lexington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- New Lexington is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
- Boynton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Boynton is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watsondale, with the one closest to Watsondale listed first.
- Donegal
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Iron Bridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
- West Overton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- West Overton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Overton
- Scottdale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hawkeye
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- Mount Joy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Mount Joy is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
- Stahlstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Alverton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Alverton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverton
- Mount Pleasant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Allegany County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Watsondale, with the one closest to Watsondale listed first.
- Barton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Barton is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
- Klondike
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Klondike is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
- Midlothian
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Midlothian is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midlothian
- Woodland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Woodland is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
- Lonaconing
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Luke
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Luke is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luke
- Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
- Moscow
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Moscow is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Nikep
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Nikep is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nikep
- Westernport
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Borden Shaft
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Borden Shaft is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Shaft
- Frostburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Gilmore
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Gilmore is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
- Garrett County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Watsondale, with the one closest to Watsondale listed first.
- Friendsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Accident
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- McHenry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Grantsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Bittinger
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Avilton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Avilton is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
- Swanton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Altamont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Altamont is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
- Deer Park
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Oakland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Oakland is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,803 people
- Hutton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Hutton is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
- Mountain Lake Park
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Mountain Lake Park is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,065 people
- Mineral County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Watsondale, with the one closest to Watsondale listed first.
- Piedmont
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Windom ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Windom is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
- Shaw
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Shaw is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
- Elk Garden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Harrison
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Harrison is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Schell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Schell is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
- Keyser
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sulphur City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sulphur City is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur City
- Hartmansville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hartmansville is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartmansville
- New Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Monongalia County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Watsondale, with the one closest to Watsondale listed first.
- Cheat Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
- Canyon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Canyon is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Brookhaven
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Brookhaven is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
- Baker Ridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Baker Ridge is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Ridge
- Morgantown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Preston County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Watsondale, with the one closest to Watsondale listed first.
- Hazelton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Brandonville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Brandonville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Clifton Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
- Morgans Glade
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Morgans Glade is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Glade
- Orr
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Orr is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
- Bruceton Mills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Lenox
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lenox is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
- Little Sandy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Little Sandy is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandy
- Rockville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Rockville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Albright
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Terra Alta
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Kingwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Watsondale, see our County-by-County Page for Watsondale.
Cemeteries Near Watsondale ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Watsondale.
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 Watsondale - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Watsondale covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Watsondale, with the one closest to Watsondale listed first.
- Great Crossings Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Asher Glade Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Emberson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Turney Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Thomas Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Steel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sand Spring Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Blooming Rose Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blooming Rose Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Blooming Rose Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the west of Friendsville (MD).
- The Blooming Rose Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Blooming Rose Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #80787 <4>
- St. John's English Lutheran Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Webb Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Crossroads Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ursina Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (284 more) ...
- Teets Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Savage Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Old Jersey Church Turkeyfoot Baptist Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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.
While we didn't find Watsondale in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Watsondale.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Watsondale, with the one closest to Watsondale listed first.
- Somerfield
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Somerfield is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerfield
- Selbysport
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Selbysport is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selbysport
- Mineral Spring
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mineral Spring is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Spring
- Ursina
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ursina is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Addison
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Markleysburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Friendsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Listonburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Listonburg is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listonburg
- Dumas
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Dumas is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas
- Harnedsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Harnedsville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harnedsville
- Confluence
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Glade Farms
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Glade Farms is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Farms
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Engle Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Engle Mill is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Engle Mill
- Draketown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Draketown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
- Hoyes
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Hoyes is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoyes
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Watsondale. See our List of 1890's Communities around Watsondale.
Newspapers Published in Watsondale ...
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 8 newspapers that have been published in the area around Watsondale.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Watsondale, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Watsondale.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Watsondale:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Fayette County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Greene County
- Somerset County
- Westmoreland County
- Allegany County
- Garrett County
- Mineral County
- Monongalia County
- Preston County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Watsondale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Watsondale) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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. |