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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 Charlestown (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 Charlestown. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.

Charlestown is located in Allegany County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Allegany County: Garrett, Washington, Bedford (PA), Fulton (PA), Somerset (PA), Hampshire (WV), Mineral (WV) & Morgan (WV).

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

  • Allegany County     (The home county of Charlestown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
    • Lonaconing
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Moscow
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Moscow is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
    • Nikep
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Nikep is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nikep
    • Gilmore
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Gilmore is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
    • Midland
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Midland is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
    • Barton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Barton is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
    • Klondike
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Klondike is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
    • Woodland
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Woodland is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
    • Ocean
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Ocean is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean
    • Frost ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Frost is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
    • Rawlings
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Borden Shaft
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Borden Shaft is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Shaft
    • Midlothian
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Midlothian is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midlothian
  • Garrett County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
    • Avilton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Avilton is located in Garrett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
    • Bloomington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Bloomington is located in Garrett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
    • Grantsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Bittinger
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Swanton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Kitzmiller
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Altamont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Altamont is located in Garrett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
    • Accident
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Deer Park
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • McHenry
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Schell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Schell is located in Garrett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
    • Mountain Lake Park
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Mountain Lake Park is located in Garrett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,065 people
    • Friendsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Bedford County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
    • Stringtown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Stringtown is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Cooks Mills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
    • Hyndman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Hyndman is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyndman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 854 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hyndman <1>
    • Beans Cove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Beans Cove is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Cove
  • Fayette County (PA)
    • Markleysburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Somerset County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
    • Wellersburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Wellersburg is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellersburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
    • Salisbury
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Boynton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Boynton is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
    • Wittenberg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Wittenberg is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittenberg
    • West Salisbury
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • West Salisbury is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salisbury
    • Coal Run
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Coal Run is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Run
    • Callimont
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Callimont is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callimont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
    • Meyersdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Glade City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Glade City is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade City
    • Summit Mills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Summit Mills is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Mills
    • West Meyersdale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • West Meyersdale is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Meyersdale
    • Hays Mill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Hays Mill is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays Mill
    • Fairhope
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Grant County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
    • Greenland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Greenland is located in Grant County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
    • Medley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Bayard
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Bayard is located in Grant County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayard
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
    • Lahmansville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Lahmansville is located in Grant County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lahmansville
    • Wilson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Wilson is located in Grant County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
  • Hampshire County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
    • Ritters
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Ritters is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritters
    • Springfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Wapocomo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Wapocomo is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapocomo
    • Donaldson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Donaldson is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
    • Junction
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Junction is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
    • Vance
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Vance is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
    • Romney
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Romney is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,680 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Romney <1>
    • Three Churches
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Three Churches is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Churches
    • Points
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Points is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Points
    • Higginsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Higginsville is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginsville
    • Okonoko
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Okonoko is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okonoko
    • Augusta
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Slanesville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Slanesville is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slanesville
  • Hardy County (WV)
    • Inkerman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Inkerman is located in Hardy County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inkerman
  • Mineral County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
    • Piedmont
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Short Gap
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Short Gap is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Gap
    • Keyser
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Keyser is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyser
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,863 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keyser <1>
    • Windom ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Windom is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
    • Fort Ashby
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Carpendale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Carpendale is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpendale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 900 people
    • Wiley Ford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Ridgeley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • New Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Headsville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Headsville is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
    • Shaw
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Shaw is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
    • Burlington
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Elk Garden
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Morgan County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
    • Paw Paw
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Hansrote
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Hansrote is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansrote
    • Magnolia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Magnolia is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
  • Preston County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
    • Orr
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Orr is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
    • Hazelton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Charlestown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Charlestown.

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

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

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

  • Moscow Mills Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Beeman Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Old Coney Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Marys Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Marys Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Lonaconing.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #81551 <3>
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Barlett Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Moore Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Gabriels Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Morrison Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Duckworth Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • The Duckworth Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duckworth Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Duckworth Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<4> to the northeast of Westernport.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2399183 <3>
  • Miller Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Waxler Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (243 more) ...
    • Hutson Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Walden Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Dawson Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)

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>

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

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

  • Lonaconing
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Barton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Barton is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
  • Midland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Midland is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
  • Ocean
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ocean is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean
  • Black Oak
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Black Oak is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Oak
  • Carlos
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Carlos is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlos
  • Dawson
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Dawson is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
  • Rawlings
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Bier
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Bier is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bier
  • Vale Summit
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Vale Summit is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale Summit
  • Borden Shaft
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Borden Shaft is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Shaft
  • Westernport
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Piedmont
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bloomington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Bloomington is located in Garrett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
    • West Virginia Central Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Charlestown ...

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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Charlestown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Charlestown, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Charlestown.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Charlestown:

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 Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MIHP (for the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties). More information about the MHT and MIHP can be found on their website: mht.maryland.gov.
<3>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.
<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- Charlestown) 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 Charlestown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.