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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 Windber (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 Windber. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Windber is located in Somerset County.

To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Somerset County: Allegany (MD), Garrett (MD), Bedford, Cambria, Fayette & Westmoreland.

Below are the counties that are near Windber. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Windber:

  • Somerset County     (The home county of Windber)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windber, with the one closest to Windber listed first.
    • Paint
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paint have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint
      • Paint is located in Somerset County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
    • Tire Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Benson
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
      • Benson is located in Somerset County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
    • Davidsville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davidsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davidsville
      • Davidsville is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Davidsville <2>
    • Hollsopple
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Ogletown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Blough
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Forward
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Forward. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forward
      • Forward is located in Somerset County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Forward
      • From Windber to Forward
    • Hooversville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Central City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
      • Central City is located in Somerset County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,021 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Central City <2>
    • Jerome
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jerome have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
      • Jerome is located in Somerset County
    • Thomas Mill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Kantner
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kantner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kantner
      • Kantner is located in Somerset County
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windber, with the one closest to Windber listed first.
    • Pavia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pavia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavia
      • Pavia is located in Bedford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pavia
      • From Windber to Pavia
    • Pleasantville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasantville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantville
      • Pleasantville is located in Bedford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
    • New Paris
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Paris have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Paris
      • New Paris is located in Bedford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Paris <2>
    • Osterburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Schellsburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Schellsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schellsburg
      • Schellsburg is located in Bedford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 317 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Schellsburg <2>
    • Kegg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kegg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
      • Kegg is located in Bedford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kegg
      • From Windber to Kegg
    • King
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for King. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
      • King is located in Bedford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to King
      • From Windber to King
    • Saint Clairsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Clairsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clairsville
      • Saint Clairsville is located in Bedford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
    • Wolfsburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolfsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfsburg
      • Wolfsburg is located in Bedford County
    • Salemville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Manns Choice
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manns Choice have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manns Choice
      • Manns Choice is located in Bedford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manns Choice <2>
    • Maria
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Maria. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maria
      • Maria is located in Bedford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Maria
      • From Windber to Maria
    • New Enterprise
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
  • Blair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windber, with the one closest to Windber listed first.
    • Blue Knob
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Cotton Town
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cotton Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Town
      • Cotton Town is located in Blair County
    • Claysburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Puzzletown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Roaring Spring
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roaring Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaring Spring
      • Roaring Spring is located in Blair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,399 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roaring Spring <2>
    • Brooks Mill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brooks Mill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks Mill
      • Brooks Mill is located in Blair County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Brooks Mill
      • From Windber to Brooks Mill
    • Newry
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Duncansville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duncansville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncansville
      • Duncansville is located in Blair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,148 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Duncansville <2>
    • Canan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Canan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canan
      • Canan is located in Blair County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Canan
      • From Windber to Canan
    • Hollidaysburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Martinsburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martinsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsburg
      • Martinsburg is located in Blair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,858 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Martinsburg <2>
    • Frankstown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Frankstown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankstown
      • Frankstown is located in Blair County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Frankstown
      • From Windber to Frankstown
    • Altoona
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Cambria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windber, with the one closest to Windber listed first.
    • Scalp Level
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scalp Level have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalp Level
      • Scalp Level is located in Cambria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 691 people
    • Belmont
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belmont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
      • Belmont is located in Cambria County
    • Geistown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geistown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geistown
      • Geistown is located in Cambria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,242 people
    • Salix
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ferndale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lorain
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lorain have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorain
      • Lorain is located in Cambria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 680 people
    • Daisytown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Dale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Dunlo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Michael
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Sidman
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Elim
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elim have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elim
      • Elim is located in Cambria County
    • Johnstown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windber, with the one closest to Windber listed first.
    • Seven Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Springs
      • Seven Springs is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seven Springs <2>
    • Champion
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Indiana County
  • Westmoreland County

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

Cemeteries Near Windber ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Windber.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Windber, with the one closest to Windber 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.<6>

While we didn't find Windber in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Windber.

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

  • Rummel
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rummel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rummel
    • Rummel is located in Somerset County
  • Scalp Level
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scalp Level have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalp Level
    • Scalp Level is located in Cambria County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 691 people
  • Hillsboro
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
    • Hillsboro is located in Somerset County
  • Elton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elton
    • Elton is located in Cambria County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elton <2>
  • Walsall
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walsall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsall
    • Walsall is located in Cambria County
  • Ingleside
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ingleside have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
    • Ingleside is located in Cambria County
  • Geistown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geistown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geistown
    • Geistown is located in Cambria County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,242 people
  • Hollsopple
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Salix
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Stonycreek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stonycreek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonycreek
    • Stonycreek is located in Cambria County
  • Ferndale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Davidsville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davidsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davidsville
    • Davidsville is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Davidsville <2>
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Reitz
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reitz have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reitz
      • Reitz is located in Somerset County
    • Hooversville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Forward
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Forward. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forward
      • Forward is located in Somerset County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Forward
      • From Windber to Forward

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Windber ...

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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Windber.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Windber. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Windber and those printed in the larger area surrounding Windber.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<5> of Windber.

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 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 Windber:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Windber. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Somerset County: www.co.somerset.pa.us/

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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.
<5>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- Windber) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Windber. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.2361, Longitude: -78.8299    
<6>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 Windber, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025