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 Westwood (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 Westwood. 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 southeast 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 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.
Westwood 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 Westwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Westwood:
- Allegheny County (The home county of Westwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Green Tree
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Mount Washington
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Mount Washington is also located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Washington
- Ingram
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Ingram is also located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingram
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,175 people
- Crafton
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Rosslyn Farms
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Rosslyn Farms is also located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosslyn Farms
- Population from the 2020 Census: 417 people
- Allentown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Allentown is also located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allentown
- Pittsburgh
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Fairywood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fairywood is also located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairywood
- Dormont
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Beltzhoover
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Beltzhoover is also located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beltzhoover
- Carnegie
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Thornburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Thornburg is also located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 411 people
- Carrick
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Carrick is also located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrick
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Freeport
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- 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)
- Apollo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- North Apollo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Orchard Hills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- 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
- Beaver County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood 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
- 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
- Aliquippa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Baden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- New Sheffield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- New Sheffield is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sheffield
- Wallace City
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Wallace City is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace City
- Conway
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Freedom
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Knob
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Knob is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob
- Harshaville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Harshaville is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harshaville
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Seven Fields
(17 miles [27.4 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
(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
- Mars
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Ogle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Ogle is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogle
- Myoma
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Myoma is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myoma
- Callery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Glade Mills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Glade Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
- Watters
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Watters is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watters
- Evans City
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Ekastown
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Ekastown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
- Brownsdale
(24 miles [38.6 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 Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Belle Vernon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lynnwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Lynnwood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood
- 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
- Brownstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Brownstown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
- Fairhope
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fairhope is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhope
- Newell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Newell is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 492 people
- 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
- Kenneth
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Kenneth is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenneth
- Banning
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Banning is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Whitsett
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Whitsett is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
- Chamouni
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Chamouni is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamouni
- Fuller
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Fuller is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Lynn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lynn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- McMurray
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Thompsonville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Thompsonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- MacDonald
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- MacDonald is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for MacDonald
- McDonald
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Finleyville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Gastonville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Gastonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gastonville
- Ellsworth
(13 miles [20.9 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
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cokeburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cokeburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokeburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
- Midway
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Gilkeson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Gilkeson is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilkeson
- Strabane
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Candor
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Candor is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Candor
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Trafford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- 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)
- New Kensington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Parnassus
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Parnassus is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
- 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
- Blackburn ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Blackburn was located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Rillton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Sutersville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Irwin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- 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>
- Shafton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Shafton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shafton
- 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)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Toronto
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Mingo Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Brooke County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood 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 was 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 was located in Brooke County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Ferry
- Hancock County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood 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
- Weirton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- 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
- 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 Westwood, see our County-by-County Page for Westwood.
Cemeteries Near Westwood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westwood.
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 Westwood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Westwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Chartiers Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- German Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- German Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- St. Martins Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- St. Clair Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- St. Georges Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- St. John Vianney Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. John Vianney Cemetery
- The St. John Vianney Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Pittsburgh.
- The St. John Vianney Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Georges Cemetery
- St. Josephs Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1102535 <2>
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- St. Paul Of The Cross Monastery Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Continue List (433 more) ...
- Uniondale Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- 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>
- Zedeck Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
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 Westwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Westwood.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Green Tree
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- West End
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- West End is also located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West End
- Banksville
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Banksville is also located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banksville
- Mount Washington
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Mount Washington is also located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Washington
- Allegheny ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Allegheny was located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allegheny
- Ingram
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Ingram is also located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingram
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,175 people
- Crafton
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Beltzhoover
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Beltzhoover is also located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beltzhoover
- Pittsburgh
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Chartiers
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Chartiers is also located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
- Carrick
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Carrick is also located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrick
- Mount Oliver
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Arlington
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Arlington is also located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- McKees Rocks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Soho
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Soho is also located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soho
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Westwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Westwood.
Newspapers Published in Westwood ...
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 467 newspapers that have been published in the area around Westwood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westwood, 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 Westwood.
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 Westwood:
- 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 Westwood, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Westwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |