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 Tarentum (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 Tarentum. 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 Tarentum ...
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 Tarentum: W. Tarentum
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 doctors 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 Tarentum 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 Tarentum. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Tarentum:
- Allegheny County (The home county of West Tarentum)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Tarentum, with the one closest to West Tarentum listed first.
- Tarentum
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Brackenridge
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Natrona
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Natrona is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natrona
- Springdale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Cheswick
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Harwick
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Harwick is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwick
- Rural Ridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Russellton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Karns
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Karns is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karns
- Sligo
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Sligo is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sligo
- Culmerville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Culmerville is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culmerville
- Curtisville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Curtisville is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtisville
- Indianola
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Tarentum, with the one closest to West Tarentum listed first.
- Freeport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Aladdin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
- Leechburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Apollo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- North Apollo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Orchard Hills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- McVille
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- McVille is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
- Neale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Neale is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
- Slate Lick
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Slate Lick is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Lick
- Edmon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- Spring Church
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Rosston
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rosston is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosston
- West Ford City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- West Ford City is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Ford City
- Beaver County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Tarentum, with the one closest to West Tarentum listed first.
- Economy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Economy is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Economy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,022 people
- Wallace City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Wallace City is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace City
- Ambridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Knob
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Knob is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob
- Baden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Conway
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- South Heights
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- South Heights is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 437 people
- Aliquippa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Freedom
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Crestmont Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Crestmont Village is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestmont Village
- East Rochester
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- East Rochester is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rochester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 526 people
- Gringo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Gringo is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gringo
- Monaca
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Tarentum, with the one closest to West Tarentum listed first.
- Ekastown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Ekastown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
- Monroe
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Monroe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Leasureville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Leasureville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leasureville
- Saxonburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Frazier Mill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Frazier Mill is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Mill
- Glade Mills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Glade Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
- Dennys Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Dennys Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennys Mills
- Valencia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Great Belt
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Great Belt is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Belt
- Mars
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Brownsdale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Brownsdale is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsdale
- Nixon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Nixon is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixon
- Herman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Clarion County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Tarentum, with the one closest to West Tarentum listed first.
- East Brady
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Phillipston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Phillipston is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipston
- Catfish
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Catfish is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catfish
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Tarentum, with the one closest to West Tarentum listed first.
- White
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Clarksburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Saltsburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- West Lebanon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- West Lebanon is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
- Bow
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Parkwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Parkwood is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Jacksonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Shelocta
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Aultman
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Aultman is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aultman
- Blairsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Shado-Wood Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Shado-Wood Village is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shado-Wood Village
- Smathers
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Smathers is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smathers
- Willet
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Willet is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willet
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Tarentum, with the one closest to West Tarentum listed first.
- Ellsworth
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Ellsworth is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Finleyville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Gastonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Gastonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gastonville
- McMurray
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Thompsonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Thompsonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- Black Diamond
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Black Diamond is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
- Monongahela
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- New Eagle
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Riverview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Riverview is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- MacDonald
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- MacDonald is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for MacDonald
- Baidland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Baidland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baidland
- Donora
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- McDonald
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Tarentum, with the one closest to West Tarentum listed first.
- Arnold
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- New Kensington
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Parnassus
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Parnassus is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
- Lower Burrell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Weinel Crossroads
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Weinel Crossroads is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weinel Crossroads
- Bagdad
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bagdad is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagdad
- West Leechburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- West Leechburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leechburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
- Hyde Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- East Vandergrift
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- East Vandergrift is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Vandergrift
- Population from the 2020 Census: 631 people
- Oklahoma
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Oklahoma is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oklahoma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 739 people
- Vandergrift
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- North Washington
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- North Washington is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Washington
- Franklin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Tarentum, see our County-by-County Page for West Tarentum.
Cemeteries Near West Tarentum ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Tarentum.
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 Tarentum - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Tarentum covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Tarentum, with the one closest to West Tarentum listed first.
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- St. Clemens Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Union Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Prospect Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Cemetery
- The Prospect Cemetery has also been known as:
- Tarentum Burying Ground
- Tarentum Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45831 <2>
- Bethel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Our Lady of Hope Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Deer Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Springdale Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Millerstown Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Transfiguration Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- St. Nichols Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (399 more) ...
- St. Mark Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Dugan Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Greenwood Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
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 Tarentum in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Tarentum.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Tarentum, with the one closest to West Tarentum listed first.
- Creighton
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Valley Camp
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Valley Camp is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Camp
- Tarentum
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Hites
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Hites is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hites
- New Kensington
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Arnold
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Brackenridge
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Parnassus
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Parnassus is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
- Natrona
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Natrona is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natrona
- Rural Ridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Cheswick
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Springdale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Braeburn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Braeburn is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braeburn
- Metcalf
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Metcalf is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metcalf
- Karns
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Karns is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karns
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Tarentum. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Tarentum.
Newspapers Published in West Tarentum ...
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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Tarentum.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Tarentum, 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 Tarentum.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Tarentum:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Allegheny County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Armstrong County
- Beaver County
- Butler County
- Clarion County
- Indiana County
- Washington 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> | 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 Tarentum, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- West Tarentum) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |