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 Ford City (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 Ford City. 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 Ford City ...
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 Ford City: W. Ford City
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 hospitals and 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 Ford City is located in Armstrong 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 Armstrong County: Allegheny, Butler, Clarion, Indiana, Jefferson & Westmoreland.
Below are the counties that are near West Ford City. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Ford City:
- Armstrong County (The home county of West Ford City)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ford City, with the one closest to West Ford City listed first.
- Rosston
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Rosston is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosston
- Ford Cliff
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Ford Cliff is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford Cliff
- Population from the 2020 Census: 347 people
- Ford City
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Lenape Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Lenape Heights is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenape Heights
- Dog Town
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dog Town is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
- Manorville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Manorville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manorville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 383 people
- West Kittanning
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- West Kittanning is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Kittanning
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,078 people
- Applewold
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Applewold is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Applewold
- Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
- Neale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Neale is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
- McVille
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- McVille is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
- Kittanning
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Slate Lick
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Slate Lick is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Lick
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ford City, with the one closest to West Ford City listed first.
- Sligo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sligo is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sligo
- Karns
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Karns is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karns
- Natrona
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Natrona is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natrona
- Brackenridge
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Tarentum
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Culmerville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Culmerville is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culmerville
- Curtisville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Curtisville is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtisville
- Russellton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rural Ridge
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Springdale
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Cheswick
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Harwick
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Harwick is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwick
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ford City, with the one closest to West Ford City listed first.
- Leasureville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Leasureville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leasureville
- Monroe
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Monroe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Dennys Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Dennys Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennys Mills
- Fenelton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ekastown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Ekastown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
- Great Belt
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Great Belt is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Belt
- Saxonburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Saint Joe
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Joe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joe
- Herman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Frazier Mill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Frazier Mill is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Mill
- Chicora
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- East Butler
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clarion County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ford City, with the one closest to West Ford City listed first.
- Phillipston
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Phillipston is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipston
- East Brady
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Lawsonham
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Lawsonham is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonham
- Catfish
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Catfish is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catfish
- Rimersburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bela
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Bela is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bela
- Leatherwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Leatherwood is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- New Bethlehem
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Fairmont City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Piolett
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Piolett is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piolett
- Toby
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Toby is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toby
- Hawthorn
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ford City, with the one closest to West Ford City listed first.
- Shelocta
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- West Lebanon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- West Lebanon is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
- Parkwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Parkwood is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Saltsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Willet
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Willet is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willet
- Clarksburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Beyer
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Beyer is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beyer
- Creekside
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Creekside is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creekside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
- Plumville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Plumville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
- White
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Aultman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Aultman is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aultman
- Chambersville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Chambersville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersville
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ford City, with the one closest to West Ford City listed first.
- Langville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Langville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langville
- Pansy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pansy is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pansy
- Timblin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Timblin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timblin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Worthville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Worthville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
- Valier
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Valier is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valier
- Ohl
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ohl is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohl
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ford City, with the one closest to West Ford City listed first.
- West Leechburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- West Leechburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leechburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
- Bagdad
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bagdad is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagdad
- Hyde Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Weinel Crossroads
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Weinel Crossroads is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weinel Crossroads
- East Vandergrift
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- East Vandergrift is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Vandergrift
- Population from the 2020 Census: 631 people
- Vandergrift
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Oklahoma
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Oklahoma is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oklahoma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 739 people
- Lower Burrell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- North Washington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- North Washington is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Washington
- Avonmore
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Arnold
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Kensington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Ford City, see our County-by-County Page for West Ford City.
Cemeteries Near West Ford City ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Ford City.
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 Ford City - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Ford City covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Ford City, with the one closest to West Ford City listed first.
- Ukrainian Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Ford City Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Holy Trinity Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Cowan Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Oakland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Kittanning Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lawnhaven Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Shotts Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Marys Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Marys Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Wick City.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #478503 <2>
- Murphys Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (267 more) ...
- Forks - Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks - Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Forks - Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the north of Leechburg.
- The Forks - Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Forks - Zion Lutheran Evangelical Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #629382 <2>
- Worthington Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Porter Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
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 West Ford City in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Ford City.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Ford City, with the one closest to West Ford City listed first.
- Rosston
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Rosston is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosston
- Ford City
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- North Buffalo
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- North Buffalo is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Buffalo
- Manorville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Manorville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manorville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 383 people
- McHaddon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- McHaddon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McHaddon
- McVille
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- McVille is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
- Neale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Neale is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
- Tunnelville ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tunnelville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelville
- Kittanning
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Slate Lick
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Slate Lick is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Lick
- Ewing
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Ewing is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewing
- Walkchalk
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Walkchalk is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkchalk
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Boggsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Boggsville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boggsville
- Aladdin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
- Gosford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gosford is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gosford
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Ford City. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Ford City.
Newspapers Published in West Ford City ...
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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Ford City.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Ford City, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Ford City.
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 Ford City:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Armstrong County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Butler County
- Clarion County
- Indiana County
- Jefferson County
- Westmoreland 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- West Ford City) 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 West Ford City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |