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 End (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 End. 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.
West End is located in Allegheny 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 Allegheny County: Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Washington & Westmoreland.
Below are the counties that are near West End. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West End:
- Allegheny County (The home county of West End)
- The following are listed by their distance from West End, with the one closest to West End listed first.
- Mount Washington
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Mount Washington is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Washington
- Green Tree
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Crafton
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Ingram
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Ingram is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingram
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,175 people
- Pittsburgh
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Soho
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Soho is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soho
- McKees Rocks
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Allentown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Allentown is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allentown
- Beltzhoover
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Beltzhoover is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beltzhoover
- Rosslyn Farms
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Rosslyn Farms is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosslyn Farms
- Population from the 2020 Census: 417 people
- Fairywood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Fairywood is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairywood
- Thornburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Thornburg is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 411 people
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from West End, with the one closest to West End listed first.
- Freeport
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Apollo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Aladdin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
- Leechburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Orchard Hills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- North Apollo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Edmon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- McVille
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- McVille is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
- Neale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Neale is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
- Slate Lick
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Slate Lick is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Lick
- Beaver County
- The following are listed by their distance from West End, with the one closest to West End listed first.
- Ambridge
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- South Heights
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- South Heights is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 437 people
- Gringo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gringo is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gringo
- Aliquippa
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Crestmont Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Crestmont Village is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestmont Village
- Economy
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Economy is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Economy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,022 people
- New Sheffield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- New Sheffield is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sheffield
- Baden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Conway
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Wallace City
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Wallace City is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace City
- Knob
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Knob is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob
- Freedom
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from West End, with the one closest to West End listed first.
- Seven Fields
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Seven Fields is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Fields
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,740 people
- Valencia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Mars
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Fernway
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Fernway is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernway
- Fox Run
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Fox Run is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Run
- Ogle
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Ogle is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogle
- Myoma
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Myoma is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myoma
- Callery
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Glade Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Glade Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
- Watters
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Watters is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watters
- Evans City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Brownsdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Brownsdale is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsdale
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from West End, with the one closest to West End listed first.
- Belle Vernon
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Arnold City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Arnold City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold City
- Fairhope
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fairhope is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhope
- Lynnwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lynnwood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood
- Brownstown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Brownstown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
- Fayette City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fayette City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
- Newell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Newell is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 492 people
- Banning
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Banning is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Chamouni
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Chamouni is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamouni
- Kenneth
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Kenneth is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenneth
- Redstone
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Redstone is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
- Whitsett
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Whitsett is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from West End, with the one closest to West End listed first.
- Thompsonville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Thompsonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- McMurray
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- MacDonald
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- MacDonald is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for MacDonald
- McDonald
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gastonville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Gastonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gastonville
- Finleyville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Midway
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Ellsworth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Ellsworth is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Canonsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cokeburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cokeburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokeburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
- Candor
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Candor is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Candor
- Gilkeson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Gilkeson is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilkeson
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from West End, with the one closest to West End listed first.
- Trafford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- New Kensington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Parnassus
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Parnassus is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
- Larimer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Larimer is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larimer
- Murrysville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Arnold
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Shaner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Shaner is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaner
- North Irwin
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- North Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Sutersville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Franklin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Blackburn ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Blackburn is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Irwin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,716 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwin <1>
- Columbiana County (OH)
- East End
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- East End is located in Columbiana County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East End
- Jefferson County (OH)
- Toronto
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Brooke County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from West End, with the one closest to West End listed first.
- Hooverson Heights
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Hooverson Heights is located in Brooke County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooverson Heights
- Follansbee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Lower Ferry ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Lower Ferry is located in Brooke County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Ferry
- Middle Ferry ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Middle Ferry is located in Brooke County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Ferry
- Hancock County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from West End, with the one closest to West End listed first.
- Fairhaven
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Fairhaven is located in Hancock County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
- Lawrenceville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lawrenceville is located in Hancock County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceville
- New Manchester
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- New Manchester is located in Hancock County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Manchester
- Weirton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Zalia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Zalia is located in Hancock County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zalia
- Chester
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- New Cumberland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West End, see our County-by-County Page for West End.
Cemeteries Near West End ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West End.
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 End - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West End covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West End, with the one closest to West End listed first.
- St. Martins Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Zedeck Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Chartiers Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- German Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- German Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- St. Paul Of The Cross Monastery Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Union Dale Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Dale Cemetery
- The Union Dale Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hilldale Cemetery
- Mt. Union Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46547 <2>
- Uniondale Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Highwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Continue List (438 more) ...
- Beth Hamedrash Hagodal Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hollywood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, West End had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West End, with the one closest to West End listed first.
- Crafton
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Green Tree
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Mount Washington
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Mount Washington is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Washington
- Allegheny ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Allegheny is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allegheny
- Ingram
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Ingram is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingram
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,175 people
- Banksville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Banksville is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banksville
- Beltzhoover
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Beltzhoover is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beltzhoover
- Soho
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Soho is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soho
- Pittsburgh
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Woods Run
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Woods Run is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Run
- McKees Rocks
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Chartiers
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Chartiers is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Bellevue
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Carrick
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Carrick is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrick
- Mount Oliver
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West End. See our List of 1890's Communities around West End.
Newspapers Published in West End ...
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 463 newspapers that have been published in the area around West End.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West End, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West End.
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 End:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Allegheny County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Armstrong County
- Beaver County
- Butler County
- Fayette County
- Washington County
- Westmoreland County
- Columbiana County
- Jefferson County
- Brooke County
- Hancock 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 End, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- West End) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |