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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 Vandergrift (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 Vandergrift. 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 Vandergrift ...

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 Vandergrift: W. Vandergrift

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 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 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 Vandergrift 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 Vandergrift. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Vandergrift:

  • Westmoreland County     (The home county of West Vandergrift)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Vandergrift, with the one closest to West Vandergrift listed first.
    • East Vandergrift
      (Less than 2 miles 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
    • Vandergrift
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Oklahoma
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Oklahoma is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oklahoma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 739 people
    • Hyde Park
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Weinel Crossroads
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Weinel Crossroads is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weinel Crossroads
    • West Leechburg
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • West Leechburg is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leechburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
    • Bagdad
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Bagdad is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagdad
    • North Washington
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • North Washington is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Washington
    • Avonmore
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Salina
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Lower Burrell
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Arnold
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Arnold is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,790 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arnold <1>
  • Allegheny County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Vandergrift, with the one closest to West Vandergrift listed first.
    • Sligo
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Sligo is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sligo
    • Karns
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Karns is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karns
    • Natrona
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Natrona is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natrona
    • Brackenridge
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Tarentum
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Plum
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
    • Leechburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Leechburg is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leechburg
    • New Texas
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • New Texas is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Texas
    • Springdale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Cheswick
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Harwick
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Harwick is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwick
    • Rural Ridge
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Armstrong County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Vandergrift, with the one closest to West Vandergrift listed first.
    • Apollo
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Apollo is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apollo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,507 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Apollo <1>
    • North Apollo
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Orchard Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
    • Leechburg
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Spring Church
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Edmon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Edmon is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
    • Neale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Neale is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
    • Aladdin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
    • Freeport
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • McVille
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • McVille is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
    • Cochrans Mills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Cochrans Mills is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mills
    • Olivet
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Olivet is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Vandergrift, with the one closest to West Vandergrift listed first.
    • Monroe
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Monroe is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
    • Leasureville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Leasureville is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leasureville
    • Ekastown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Ekastown is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
    • Dennys Mills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Dennys Mills is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennys Mills
    • Saxonburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Frazier Mill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Frazier Mill is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Mill
    • Great Belt
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Great Belt is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Belt
    • Glade Mills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Glade Mills is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
    • Fenelton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Herman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Valencia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Nixon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Nixon is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixon
  • Clarion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Vandergrift, with the one closest to West Vandergrift listed first.
    • Phillipston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Phillipston is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipston
    • East Brady
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Lawsonham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Lawsonham is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonham
    • Catfish
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Catfish is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catfish
    • Rimersburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • New Bethlehem
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Indiana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Vandergrift, with the one closest to West Vandergrift listed first.
    • Clarksburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • White
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • White is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
    • Saltsburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • West Lebanon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • West Lebanon is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
    • Parkwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Parkwood is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
    • Shelocta
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Bow
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bow is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
    • Jacksonville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
    • Aultman
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Aultman is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aultman
    • Shado-Wood Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Shado-Wood Village is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shado-Wood Village
    • Smathers
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Smathers is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smathers
    • Blairsville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near West Vandergrift ...

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

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 Vandergrift - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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 Vandergrift in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Vandergrift.

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

  • Vandergrift
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Apollo
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Apollo is located in Armstrong County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apollo
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,507 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Apollo <1>
  • Paulton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Paulton is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paulton
  • Leechburg
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Markle
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Markle is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markle
  • North Washington
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • North Washington is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Washington
  • Dime
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Dime is located in Armstrong County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dime
  • Bagdad
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bagdad is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagdad
  • Milligantown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Milligantown is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milligantown
  • Spring Church
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Metcalf
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Metcalf is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metcalf
  • Sligo
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Sligo is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sligo
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Karns
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Karns is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karns
    • Braeburn
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Braeburn is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braeburn
    • Salina
      (7 miles [11.3 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 Vandergrift. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Vandergrift.

Newspapers Published in West Vandergrift ...

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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Vandergrift.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Vandergrift, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Vandergrift.

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 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 Vandergrift:

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 Vandergrift, 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 from Point A (ie- West Vandergrift) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.