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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 Springfield (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 Springfield. 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 Springfield ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for West Springfield: W. Springfield

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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 Springfield is located in Erie County.

To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Erie County: Chautauqua (NY), Ashtabula (OH), Crawford (OH) & Warren (OH).

Below are the counties that are near West Springfield. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Springfield:

  • Erie County     (The home county of West Springfield)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Springfield, with the one closest to West Springfield listed first.
    • Cherry Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Hill
      • Cherry Hill is located in Erie County
    • East Springfield
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Albion
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Cranesville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cranesville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranesville
      • Cranesville is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 594 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cranesville <1>
    • Platea
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Platea have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platea
      • Platea is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 397 people
    • Pennside
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennside
      • Pennside is located in Erie County
    • Girard
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Girard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
      • Girard is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,897 people
    • Lake City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
      • Lake City is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,836 people
    • Little Elk
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Elk
      • Little Elk is located in Erie County
    • Francis
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Francis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francis
      • Francis is located in Erie County
    • Franklin Center
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Avonia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avonia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avonia
      • Avonia is located in Erie County
    • Borough of Fairview
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Borough of Fairview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borough of Fairview
      • Borough of Fairview is located in Erie County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Borough of Fairview <1>
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Springfield, with the one closest to West Springfield listed first.
    • Springboro
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springboro
      • Springboro is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springboro <1>
    • Conneautville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Crossingville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crossingville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossingville
      • Crossingville is located in Crawford County
    • Dicksonburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dicksonburg
      • Dicksonburg is located in Crawford County
    • Pymatuning North
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pymatuning North. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pymatuning North
      • Pymatuning North is located in Crawford County
    • Norrisville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norrisville
      • Norrisville is located in Crawford County
    • Linesville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Linesville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linesville
      • Linesville is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 965 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Linesville <1>
    • Coons Corners
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coons Corners
      • Coons Corners is located in Crawford County
    • Harmonsburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmonsburg
      • Harmonsburg is located in Crawford County
    • Venango
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Venango have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venango
      • Venango is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Venango <1>
    • Watson Run
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson Run
      • Watson Run is located in Crawford County
    • Espyville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Cambridge Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cambridge Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge Springs
      • Cambridge Springs is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,665 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cambridge Springs <1>
  • York County
    • Adamsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
      • Adamsville is located in York County
  • Ashtabula County (OH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Springfield, with the one closest to West Springfield listed first.
    • Conneaut
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conneaut
      • Conneaut is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,237 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Conneaut <1>
    • North Kingsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Kingsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Kingsville
      • North Kingsville is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,779 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North Kingsville <1>
    • Kingsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Crestlawn Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crestlawn Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestlawn Village
      • Crestlawn Village is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
    • Edgewood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
      • Edgewood is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
    • Parkwood Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkwood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood Village
      • Parkwood Village is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
    • Ashtabula
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashtabula
      • Ashtabula is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,917 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashtabula <1>
    • Richmond Center
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richmond Center have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Center
      • Richmond Center is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
    • Dorset
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jefferson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
      • Jefferson is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,977 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jefferson <1>
    • Austinburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Rowenton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rowenton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowenton
      • Rowenton is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
    • Saybrook
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saybrook have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saybrook
      • Saybrook is located in Ashtabula County (OH)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Springfield, see our County-by-County Page for West Springfield.

Newspapers Published in West Springfield ...

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 106 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Springfield.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Springfield, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Springfield.

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 helpful 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 Springfield:

Cemeteries Near West Springfield ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Springfield.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Springfield covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Springfield, with the one closest to West Springfield listed first.

  • Cottage Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cottage Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cottage Church Cemetery
  • Springfield Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Springfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Springfield Cemetery
  • East Lakeville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Lakeville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Lakeville Cemetery
  • Clarks Corner Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clarks Corner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clarks Corner Cemetery
  • Salsbury Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salsbury Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salsbury Cemetery
  • City Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the City Cemetery
  • Farnham Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Farnham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Farnham Cemetery
  • Center Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Durkee Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Durkee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Durkee Cemetery
  • Randall Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Randall Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Albion.
    • The Randall Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Randall / Valley Cemetery
    • Valley Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Randall Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1976564 <5>
  • Glenwood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Josephs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Josephs Cemetery
  • Continue List   (143 more) ...
    • West Lakeville Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Lakeville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Lakeville Cemetery
    • Reeds Corners Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • White Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the White Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White Cemetery

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that West Springfield had a population of 180 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

These communities are listed based on their distance from West Springfield, with the one closest to West Springfield listed first.

  • Cherry Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Hill
    • Cherry Hill is located in Erie County
  • East Springfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Tracy
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tracy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tracy
    • Tracy is located in Erie County
  • North Springfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Springfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Springfield
    • North Springfield is located in Erie County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North Springfield <1>
  • Conneaut
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conneaut
    • Conneaut is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,237 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Conneaut <1>
  • Cross
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cross have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross
    • Cross is located in Erie County
  • Thornton Junction
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thornton Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton Junction
    • Thornton Junction is located in Erie County
  • Keepville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keepville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keepville
    • Keepville is located in Erie County
  • Albion
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Amboy
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amboy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amboy
    • Amboy is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
  • Bushnell
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bushnell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushnell
    • Bushnell is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
  • Pennside
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennside
    • Pennside is located in Erie County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Lundys Lane
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lundys Lane have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lundys Lane
      • Lundys Lane is located in Erie County
    • Platea
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Platea have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platea
      • Platea is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 397 people
    • Girard Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Girard Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard Junction
      • Girard Junction is located in Erie County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Springfield. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Springfield.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for West Springfield. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Erie County: www.eriecountygov.org/

The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 Springfield) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Springfield. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.9459, Longitude: -80.4742       In this case, the coordinates for West Springfield have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Springfield, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024