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 Williams (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 Williams. 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 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.
Williams is located in Forest 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 Forest County: Clarion, Elk, Jefferson, Venango & Warren.
Below are the counties that are near Williams. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Williams:
- Forest County (The home county of Williams)
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Roses
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Roses is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roses
- Gilfoyle
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Gilfoyle is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilfoyle
- Marienville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Marienville is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marienville
- Redclyffe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Redclyffe is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redclyffe
- Clarington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Balltown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Balltown is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balltown
- Iron City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Iron City is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Sheffield Junction
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sheffield Junction is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield Junction
- Tionesta
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Jamison
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Jamison is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamison
- Trunkeyville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Trunkeyville is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trunkeyville
- Fagundus
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Fagundus is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fagundus
- Armstrong County
- Millville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Millville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
- Clarion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Crown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Crown is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown
- Cooksburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Leeper
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Newmansville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Newmansville is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newmansville
- Wolfs Corners
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Wolfs Corners is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfs Corners
- Helen Furnace
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Helen Furnace is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen Furnace
- Fryburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Marble
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Arthurs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Arthurs is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthurs
- Venus
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Venus is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venus
- Day
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Day is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Day
- Clarion
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Strattanville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Clearfield County
- Treasure Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Treasure Lake is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Treasure Lake
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Titusville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gresham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Gresham is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
- Elk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Millstone
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Millstone is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstone
- Hallton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Hallton is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallton
- Russell City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Russell City is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell City
- Lake City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- McKinley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- McKinley is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKinley
- Windy City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Windy City is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windy City
- James City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgway
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Whistletown
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Whistletown is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistletown
- Johnsonburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Johnsonburg is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,264 people
- Horton City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Horton City is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton City
- Shawmut
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Shawmut is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawmut
- Brockport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Ella
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Ella is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ella
- Sigel
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Howe
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Howe is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
- Munderf
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Munderf is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munderf
- Schoffner Corner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Schoffner Corner is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schoffner Corner
- Corsica
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Corsica is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corsica
- Population from the 2020 Census: 342 people
- Brookville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hazen
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hazen is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazen
- Warsaw
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Warsaw is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warsaw
- Baxter
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Baxter is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Allens Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Allens Mills is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Mills
- Brockway
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Summerville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Summerville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 501 people
- McKean County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Kane
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Coontown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Coontown is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coontown
- Kanesholm
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Kanesholm is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanesholm
- Westline
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Venango County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- President
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- President is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for President
- Coal Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Coal Hill is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Hill
- Pithole City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Pithole City is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pithole City
- Fertigs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Fertigs is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertigs
- Pleasantville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Plumer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Plumer is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumer
- Shamburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Shamburg is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamburg
- Hill City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Hill City is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill City
- Colonial Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Colonial Village is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
- Hasson Heights
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Hasson Heights is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hasson Heights
- McClintock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- McClintock is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClintock
- Petroleum Center
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Petroleum Center is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petroleum Center
- Rouseville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Henrys Mills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Henrys Mills is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrys Mills
- Hermit Spring
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Hermit Spring is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermit Spring
- Donaldson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Donaldson is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
- Hoover
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hoover is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover
- Barnes
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Barnes is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes
- Sheffield
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Saybrook
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Saybrook is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saybrook
- Tidioute
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Roystone
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Roystone is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roystone
- Cobham
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cobham is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobham
- Clarendon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Enterprise
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Enterprise is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Stoneham
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Stoneham is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneham
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Williams, see our County-by-County Page for Williams.
Cemeteries Near Williams ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Williams.
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 Williams - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Williams covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Roses Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- North Forest Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- St. Mary's Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Mary's Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Mary's Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in the vicinity of Crown
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #366360 <2>
- Blue Ridge Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cook Forest Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hominy Ridge Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Whig Hill Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- St. Dominics Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Maxwell Run Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Dehner Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Miola Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (114 more) ...
- Brookston Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Collins Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Venus Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venus Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Venus Cemetery is located between<3> the communities of Venus and Fryburg. The cemetery lies less than 2 miles<4> to the southeast of Venus.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46568 <2>
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.<5>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Williams had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Roses
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Roses is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roses
- Gilfoyle
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Gilfoyle is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilfoyle
- Marienville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Marienville is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marienville
- Vowinckel
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- North Pine Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- North Pine Grove is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pine Grove
- Redclyffe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Redclyffe is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redclyffe
- Guitonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Guitonville is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guitonville
- Crown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Crown is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown
- Penoke
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Penoke is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penoke
- Byromtown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Byromtown is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byromtown
- Kellettville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Kellettville is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellettville
- Leeper
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Cooksburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Clarington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Millstone
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Millstone is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstone
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Williams. See our List of 1890's Communities around Williams.
Newspapers Published in Williams ...
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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around Williams.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Williams, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Williams.
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 Williams:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Forest County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Armstrong County
- Clarion County
- Clearfield County
- Crawford County
- Elk County
- Jefferson County
- McKean County
- Venango County
- Warren 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> | To help visualize the location of the cemetery, we've drawn a straight line between the communities of Venus and Fryburg. The cemetery can be found near that line and roughly halfway between the two communities. Remember that this is just an approximate location. |
| <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 drawn from Point A (ie- Williams) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <5> | 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 Williams, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |