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 Derry (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 Derry. 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 Derry ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Derry: W. Derry
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Derry. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Derry.
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 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 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.
West Derry 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 West Derry. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Derry:
- Westmoreland County (The home county of West Derry)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Derry, with the one closest to West Derry listed first.
- Derry
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Derry is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,495 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Derry <1>
- New Derry
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Kingston
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Kingston is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- McChesneytown - Loyalhanna
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Youngstown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Latrobe
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Darlington
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Darlington is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
- Lawson Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lawson Heights is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawson Heights
- Manito
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Manito is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manito
- Beatty
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Beatty is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beatty
- Burrell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Burrell is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrell
- Ligonier
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- New Alexandria
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Derry, with the one closest to West Derry listed first.
- Plum
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- 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>
- Buena Vista
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Pitcairn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Wall
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Wall is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
- Leechburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Leechburg is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leechburg
- New Texas
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- New Texas is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Texas
- Boston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- East McKeesport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Garden City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Garden City is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Monroeville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- North Versailles
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- White Oak
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Wilmerding
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Derry, with the one closest to West Derry listed first.
- Edmon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- Olivet
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Olivet is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Orchard Hills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- Spring Church
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Apollo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- North Apollo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cochrans Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Cochrans Mills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mills
- Elderton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Leechburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Tunnelville ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Tunnelville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelville
- Atwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Atwood is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
- Whitesburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Whitesburg is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
- Neale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Neale is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Derry, with the one closest to West Derry listed first.
- Brownstown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Elim
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Elim is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elim
- Lilly
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Lilly is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 873 people
- Southmont
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Southmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,048 people
- Westmont
(19 miles [30.6 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
- Wilmore
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Cambria City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Cambria City is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambria City
- Johnstown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Conemaugh
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Conemaugh is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conemaugh
- Daisytown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Daisytown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisytown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 290 people
- Dale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Dale is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,110 people
- Ferndale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Belmont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Belmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Derry, with the one closest to West Derry listed first.
- Bear Rocks
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
- Laurelville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Laurelville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
- Champion
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- White
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- White is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Seven Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Indian Head
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Indian Head is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
- Everson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Everson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
- Connellsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dawson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dickerson Run
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dickerson Run is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickerson Run
- South Connellsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Banning
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Banning is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Fuller
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fuller is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Derry, with the one closest to West Derry listed first.
- Blairsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Bow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Robinson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Robinson is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
- Black Lick
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Black Lick is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lick
- Palmertown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- White
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Josephine
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Josephine is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephine
- Clarksburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Coral
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Graceton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Graceton is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graceton
- Jacksonville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Smathers
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Smathers is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smathers
- Heshbon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Heshbon is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heshbon
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Derry, with the one closest to West Derry listed first.
- Laurel Mountain Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jennerstown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Roytown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Roytown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roytown
- Thomas Mill
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Thomas Mill is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Mill
- Jenners Crossroads
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Jenners Crossroads is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners Crossroads
- Jenners
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Jenners is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners
- Jerome
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Jerome is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
- Sipesville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Sipesville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipesville
- Davidsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Bakersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Bakersville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Benson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Benson is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
- Hollsopple
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Tire Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Tire Hill is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tire Hill
- Washington County
- Donora
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Derry, see our County-by-County Page for West Derry.
Cemeteries Near West Derry ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Derry.
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 Derry - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Derry covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Derry, with the one closest to West Derry listed first.
- Coles Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Rose Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- St. James Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- St. Vincent Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Keltz Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Unity Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity Cemetery
- The Unity Cemetery has also been known as:
- Unity Presbyterian Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46551 <2>
- St. Xavier Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ligonier Valley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ligonier Valley Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Ligonier Valley Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Ligonier.
- The Ligonier Valley Cemetery has also been known as:
- Valley Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1921576 <2>
- Union Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (285 more) ...
- Craig Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Calvary Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Shirey Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
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 Derry in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Derry.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Derry, with the one closest to West Derry listed first.
- New Derry
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Bradenville
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Bradenville is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradenville
- Kingston
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Kingston is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Millwood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Millwood is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millwood
- Loyalhanna
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Loyalhanna is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyalhanna
- Osburn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Osburn is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osburn
- Youngstown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- McCance
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- McCance is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCance
- Latrobe
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Darlington
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Darlington is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
- Hillside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hillside is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside
- Beatty
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Beatty is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beatty
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Manito
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Manito is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manito
- Hostetter
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hostetter is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hostetter
- Bells
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Bells is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Derry. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Derry.
Newspapers Published in West Derry ...
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 West Derry.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Derry, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Derry.
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 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 West Derry:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Westmoreland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Armstrong 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> | 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 Derry, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Derry) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |