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 Franklin (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 Franklin. 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 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.
Franklin 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 Franklin. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Franklin:
- Allegany County (The home county of Franklin)
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Westernport
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Luke
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Luke is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luke
- Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
- Barton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Barton is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
- Moscow
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Moscow is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Nikep
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Nikep is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nikep
- Lonaconing
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Gilmore
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Gilmore is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
- Klondike
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Klondike is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
- Midland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Midland is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
- Rawlings
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Ocean
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ocean is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean
- Woodland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Woodland is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
- Borden Shaft
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Borden Shaft is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Shaft
- Garrett County
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Bloomington
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bloomington is located in Garrett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
- Avilton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Avilton is located in Garrett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
- Kitzmiller
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Swanton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bittinger
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Altamont
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Altamont is located in Garrett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
- Grantsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Schell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Schell is located in Garrett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
- Deer Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- McHenry
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Accident
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Loch Lynn Heights
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Loch Lynn Heights is located in Garrett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loch Lynn Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 525 people
- Mountain Lake Park
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- 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
- Bedford County (PA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Cooks Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
- Stringtown
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Stringtown is located in Bedford County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Hyndman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fayette County (PA)
- Markleysburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Somerset County (PA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Salisbury
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- West Salisbury
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- West Salisbury is located in Somerset County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salisbury
- Boynton
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Boynton is located in Somerset County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
- Coal Run
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Coal Run is located in Somerset County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Run
- Wellersburg
(19 miles [30.6 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
- Wittenberg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Wittenberg is located in Somerset County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittenberg
- Callimont
(21 miles [33.8 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
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Summit Mills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Summit Mills is located in Somerset County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Mills
- West Meyersdale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- West Meyersdale is located in Somerset County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Meyersdale
- Glade City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Glade City is located in Somerset County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade City
- Listonburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Listonburg is located in Somerset County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listonburg
- Addison
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Grant County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Greenland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Greenland is located in Grant County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
- Medley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Bayard
(23 miles [37 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
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lahmansville is located in Grant County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lahmansville
- Wilson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wilson is located in Grant County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Dobbin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dobbin is located in Grant County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobbin
- Maysville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Maysville is located in Grant County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
- Arthur
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Arthur is located in Grant County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
- Seymourville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Seymourville is located in Grant County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymourville
- Hampshire County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Junction
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Junction is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
- Ritters
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Ritters is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritters
- 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>
- Vance
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Vance is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
- Wapocomo
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Wapocomo is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapocomo
- Springfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Donaldson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Donaldson is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
- Three Churches
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Three Churches is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Churches
- Points
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Points is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Points
- Higginsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Higginsville is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginsville
- Augusta
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Okonoko
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Okonoko is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okonoko
- Slanesville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Slanesville is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slanesville
- Hardy County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Inkerman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Inkerman is located in Hardy County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inkerman
- Fort Run
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Fort Run is located in Hardy County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Run
- Moorefield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Mineral County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Piedmont
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Windom ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Windom is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
- Keyser
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Shaw
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Shaw is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
- New Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Elk Garden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Harrison
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Harrison is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Sulphur City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sulphur City is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur City
- Short Gap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Short Gap is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Gap
- Headsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Headsville is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
- Burlington
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hartmansville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hartmansville is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartmansville
- Fort Ashby
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Preston County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Orr
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Orr is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
- Terra Alta
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Hazelton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Aurora
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Carmel
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Carmel is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel
- Horse Shoe Run
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Horse Shoe Run is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Shoe Run
- Lenox
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Lenox is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
- Morgans Glade
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Morgans Glade is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Glade
- Salt Lick
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Salt Lick is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Lick
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Franklin, see our County-by-County Page for Franklin.
Cemeteries Near Franklin ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Franklin.
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 Franklin - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Franklin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Old St. Peter's Catholic
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Walden Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Bloomington Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- St. Peters Catholic Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Duckworth Cemetery
- The Duckworth Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duckworth Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2399183 <2>
- Morrison Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Miller Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- St. Gabriels Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Michael Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Warnick Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Moore Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Moore Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Barton.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2403737 <2>
- Moscow Mills Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (238 more) ...
- Barlett Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Tichnell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sinkler Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Franklin in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Franklin.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Westernport
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Piedmont
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Bloomington
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bloomington is located in Garrett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
- West Virginia Central Junction
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Barton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Barton is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
- Warnocks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Warnocks is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warnocks
- Windom ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Windom is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
- Barnum
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Barnum is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnum
- Keyser
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Dawson
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Dawson is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Lonaconing
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Floyd
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Floyd is located in Garrett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floyd
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Black Oak
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Black Oak is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Oak
- Shaw
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Shaw is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
- Chaffee
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Chaffee is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaffee
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Franklin. See our List of 1890's Communities around Franklin.
Newspapers Published in Franklin ...
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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Franklin.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Franklin, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Franklin.
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 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 Franklin:
- Websites specific to Maryland
- Pages specific to Allegany County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Garrett County
- Bedford County
- Fayette County
- Somerset County
- Grant County
- Hampshire County
- Hardy County
- Mineral County
- Preston County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Maryland
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Franklin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Franklin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |