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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 Highland (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 Highland. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

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 south 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.

Highland is located in Howard 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 Howard County: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Montgomery, Prince George's & Loudoun (VA).

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

  • Howard County     (The home county of Highland)
  • Anne Arundel County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Maryland City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Maryland City is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryland City
    • Jessup
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Annapolis Junction
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Dorsey
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Dorsey is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorsey
    • Lake Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Lake Village is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Village
    • Geraghty Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Geraghty Village is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geraghty Village
    • Harmans
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Harmans is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmans
    • Meade Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Meade Village is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meade Village
    • Patapsco
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Pioneer City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Pioneer City is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer City
    • Severn Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Severn Village is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Severn Village
    • Severn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Baltimore City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Beechfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Oaklee Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Oaklee Village is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaklee Village
    • Carroll
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Carroll is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
    • Edmondson Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Edmondson Village is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmondson Village
    • Violetville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Gwynn Oak
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Colonial Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Colonial Village is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • Brooklyn
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Brooklyn is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
    • Woodberry
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Woodberry is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodberry
    • Curtis Bay
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Curtis Bay is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis Bay
    • Baltimore
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Charles Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Charles Village is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charles Village
  • Baltimore County
  • Carroll County
  • Frederick County
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Ashton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Brighton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Brinklow
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Brinklow is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brinklow
    • Burtonsville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Spencerville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Spencerville is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencerville
    • Sandy Spring
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Blackburn Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Blackburn Village is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn Village
    • Cloverly
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Cloverly is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverly
    • Norwood Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Norwood Village is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood Village
    • Norwood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Brookeville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Bonifant Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bonifant Village is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonifant Village
  • Prince George's County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • West Laurel
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • West Laurel is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Laurel
    • Laurel
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • South Laurel
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • South Laurel is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Laurel
    • Beltsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Adelphi
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Berwyn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Berwyn is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwyn
    • Boxwood Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Boxwood Village is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boxwood Village
    • Berwyn Heights
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Berwyn Heights is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwyn Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,249 people
    • College Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Greenbelt
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Greenbelt is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbelt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,229 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenbelt <1>
    • Langley Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Chillum
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Alexandria City (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Arlandria
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Warwick Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Warwick Village is located in Alexandria City (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwick Village
    • Chinquapin Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Chinquapin Village is located in Alexandria City (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinquapin Village
    • Oakcrest
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Alexandria
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Arlington County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Colonial Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Colonial Village is located in Arlington County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • Lyon Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Lyon Village is located in Arlington County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyon Village
    • Riverwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Cherrydale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Garden City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Garden City is located in Arlington County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
    • Williamsburg Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Williamsburg Village is located in Arlington County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg Village
    • Arlington Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Arlington Village is located in Arlington County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington Village
    • Arlington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Brandon Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Brandon Village is located in Arlington County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon Village
    • Buckingham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Fairfax City (VA)
  • Fairfax County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Langley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • McLean
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Salona Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Salona Village is located in Fairfax County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salona Village
    • Great Falls
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Kenmore
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Pimmit Hills
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Pimmit Hills is located in Fairfax County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pimmit Hills
    • Springvale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Ash Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Ash Grove is located in Fairfax County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash Grove
    • Idylwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Idylwood is located in Fairfax County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idylwood
    • Seven Corners
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Shouse Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Shouse Village is located in Fairfax County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shouse Village
    • Tysons Corner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Falls Church City (VA)
  • Loudoun County (VA)

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

Cemeteries Near Highland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Highland.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Highland had a population of 58 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

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

Newspapers Published in Highland ...

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 1 newspapers that have been published in the area around Highland.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Highland, there are papers which were published within 4 miles [6.4 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Highland.

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 Highland:

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>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 Highland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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- Highland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.