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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 Whitehall (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 Whitehall. 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 Whitehall ...

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.

Another variation: White Hall.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Whitehall. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Whitehall.

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.

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

  • Allegheny County     (The home county of Whitehall)
  • Armstrong County
  • Beaver County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitehall, with the one closest to Whitehall listed first.
    • South Heights
      (19 miles [30.6 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
    • Ambridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Gringo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Crestmont Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Crestmont Village is located in Beaver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestmont Village
    • Aliquippa
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Baden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Economy
      (22 miles [35.4 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
    • New Sheffield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Conway
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Wallace City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Wallace City is located in Beaver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace City
    • Harshaville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Knob
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Butler County
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitehall, with the one closest to Whitehall listed first.
    • Belle Vernon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairhope
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Lynnwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Arnold City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Arnold City is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold City
    • Brownstown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Brownstown is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
    • Fayette City
      (19 miles [30.6 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
    • Newell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Banning
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Chamouni
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Kenneth
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Kenneth is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenneth
    • Whitsett
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Fuller
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Fuller is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
  • Greene County
  • Indiana County
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitehall, with the one closest to Whitehall listed first.
    • Finleyville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Gastonville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Gastonville is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gastonville
    • McMurray
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Thompsonville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Ellsworth
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Ellsworth is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
    • New Eagle
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Baidland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Baidland is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baidland
    • Monongahela
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Gilkeson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Gilkeson is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilkeson
    • Black Diamond
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Canonsburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Cokeburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Cokeburg is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokeburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
  • Westmoreland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitehall, with the one closest to Whitehall listed first.
    • Trafford
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Shaner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Larimer
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Sutersville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • North Irwin
      (14 miles [22.5 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
    • Rillton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Blackburn ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Blackburn is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
    • Webster
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Irwin
      (15 miles [24.1 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
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Shafton is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shafton
    • Monessen
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Herminie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Brooke County (WV)
    • Hooverson Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Hooverson Heights is located in Brooke County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooverson Heights

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

Cemeteries Near Whitehall ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Whitehall.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Whitehall, with the one closest to Whitehall 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Whitehall had railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Whitehall had a population of 13,313 people.

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

  • Baldwin
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Baldwin is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,419 people
  • Option
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Option is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Option
  • Surgeon Hall
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Surgeon Hall is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surgeon Hall
  • Willock
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Willock is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willock
  • Castle Shannon
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Brightwood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Brightwood is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brightwood
  • Broughton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Broughton is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broughton
  • Curry
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Curry is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curry
  • Carrick
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Beltzhoover
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • New England
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • New England is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New England
  • Hays
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hays is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays
  • Continue List   (26 more) ...
    • Glenwood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Glenwood is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
    • Mount Oliver
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Banksville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Banksville is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banksville

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

Newspapers Published in Whitehall ...

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 470 newspapers that have been published in the area around Whitehall.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Whitehall, 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 Whitehall.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Whitehall:

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 Whitehall, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Whitehall) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.