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 West Bend (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 West Bend. 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 West Bend ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Bend: W. Bend
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Bend. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Bend.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
West Bend 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 West Bend. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Bend:
- Fayette County (The home county of West Bend)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bend, with the one closest to West Bend listed first.
- Luzerne
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Luzerne is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luzerne
- Arensburg
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Arensburg is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arensburg
- East Millsboro
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- East Millsboro is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Millsboro
- Heistersburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Heistersburg is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heistersburg
- La Belle
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- La Belle is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Belle
- Isabella
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Isabella is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
- Alicia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Alicia is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alicia
- Hiller
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Dunlap Creek Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Dunlap Creek Village is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap Creek Village
- Republic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Republic is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Republic
- Brownsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Adah
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Adah is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adah
- Fairbank
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Fairbank is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbank
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bend, with the one closest to West Bend listed first.
- Sunny Side
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Elizabeth
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Library
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- West Elizabeth
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Clairton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Cochrans Mill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Cochrans Mill is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mill
- Jefferson Hills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- 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
- Buena Vista
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Lincoln
(23 miles [37 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
- Mendelssohn
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Mendelssohn is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendelssohn
- Bethel Park
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Boston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Coal Valley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Coal Valley is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bend, with the one closest to West Bend listed first.
- Rices Landing
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Clarksville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Stringtown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Stringtown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Chartiers
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Chartiers is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
- Carmichaels
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cumberland Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Fairdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Fairdale is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Jefferson
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Khedive
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Khedive is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
- Ceylon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Ceylon is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Nemacolin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Nemacolin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
- Lippincott
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lippincott is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lippincott
- Fordyce
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fordyce is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordyce
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bend, with the one closest to West Bend listed first.
- Fredericktown - Millsboro
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Millsboro
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Deemston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Deemston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deemston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 696 people
- Centerville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Centerville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,133 people
- Daisytown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Blainsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Blainsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsburg
- West Brownsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- West Brownsville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- California
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Coal Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Beallsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Marianna
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Elco
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Elco is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
- Bissell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Bissell is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bissell
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bend, with the one closest to West Bend listed first.
- Gibsonton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
- North Belle Vernon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- 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
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Webster
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Webster is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Smithton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- West Newton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Sutersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Blackburn ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Blackburn is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Wyano
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wyano is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyano
- Hawkeye
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- Scottdale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Yukon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Alverton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Alverton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverton
- Marion County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bend, with the one closest to West Bend listed first.
- Hoodsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Hoodsville is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoodsville
- Grant Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Grant Town is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Population from the 2020 Census: 590 people
- Pleasant View
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Pleasant View is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Fairview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Estimated population in 2021: 373 people
- Marshall County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bend, with the one closest to West Bend listed first.
- Dallas
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Dallas is located in Marshall County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Calis
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Calis is located in Marshall County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calis
- Rocklick
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Rocklick is located in Marshall County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocklick
- Monongalia County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bend, with the one closest to West Bend listed first.
- Bowlby
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bowlby is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlby
- Maidsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Maidsville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maidsville
- Baker Ridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Baker Ridge is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Ridge
- Canyon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Canyon is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Cassville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Cassville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassville
- Cheat Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
- Osage
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Osage is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
- Star City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Star City is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,984 people
- Blacksville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Blacksville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blacksville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
- Granville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Granville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,156 people
- Morgantown
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Westover
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Laurel Point
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- 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 West Bend, with the one closest to West Bend listed first.
- Clifton Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
- Bruceton Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Brandonville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brandonville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Rockville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rockville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Little Sandy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Little Sandy is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandy
- Masontown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Wetzel County (WV)
- Round Bottom
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Round Bottom is located in Wetzel County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Bend, see our County-by-County Page for West Bend.
Cemeteries Near West Bend ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Bend.
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 West Bend - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Bend covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Bend, with the one closest to West Bend listed first.
- Hewitts Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- St. Mary's Catholic Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Westland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Buckingham Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Horner Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Laurel Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Laurel Point Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- St. Mary Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Woodlawn Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Hiller.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2153919 <2>
- St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cumberland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (470 more) ...
- Redstone Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Bridgeport Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Green Lane Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
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.<3>
While we didn't find West Bend in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Bend.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Bend, with the one closest to West Bend listed first.
- Millsboro
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Rices Landing
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Heistersburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Heistersburg is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heistersburg
- Fredericktown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Deemston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Deemston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deemston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 696 people
- East Riverside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- East Riverside is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Riverside
- Clarksville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Jefferson
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Carmichaels
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Adah
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Adah is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adah
- Merrittstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Merrittstown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrittstown
- Brownsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Khedive
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Khedive is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
- Davidson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Davidson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davidson
- West Brownsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- West Brownsville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Bend. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Bend.
Newspapers Published in West Bend ...
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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Bend.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Bend, 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 West Bend.
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 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 West Bend:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Fayette County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Greene County
- Washington County
- Westmoreland County
- Marion County
- Marshall County
- Monongalia County
- Preston County
- Wetzel 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> | 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 West Bend, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- West Bend) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |