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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 Midland (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 Midland. 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 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.

Midland 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 Midland. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Midland:

  • Allegany County     (The home county of Midland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midland, with the one closest to Midland listed first.
    • Ocean
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Ocean is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean
    • Gilmore
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Gilmore is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
    • Woodland
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Woodland is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
    • Klondike
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Klondike is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
    • Borden Shaft
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Borden Shaft is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Shaft
    • Lonaconing
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Midlothian
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Midlothian is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midlothian
    • Loarville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Loarville is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loarville
    • Nikep
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Nikep is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nikep
    • Frostburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Clarysville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Clarysville is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarysville
    • Eckhart Mines
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Eckhart Mines is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckhart Mines
    • Moscow
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Moscow is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
  • Garrett County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midland, with the one closest to Midland listed first.
    • Avilton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Avilton is located in Garrett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
    • Bloomington
      (10 miles [16.1 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
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Swanton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Kitzmiller
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Accident
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Altamont
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Altamont is located in Garrett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
    • McHenry
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Deer Park
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Schell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Schell is located in Garrett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
    • Friendsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Loch Lynn Heights
      (26 miles [41.8 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
  • Bedford County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midland, with the one closest to Midland listed first.
    • Cooks Mills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
    • Stringtown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Stringtown is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Hyndman
      (20 miles [32.2 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
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Beans Cove is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Cove
    • Kegg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Kegg is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
    • Rainsburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Rainsburg is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
  • Fayette County (PA)
    • Markleysburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Somerset County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midland, with the one closest to Midland listed first.
    • Wellersburg
      (11 miles [17.7 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
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Wittenberg is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittenberg
    • Boynton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Boynton is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
    • Salisbury
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • West Salisbury
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • West Salisbury is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salisbury
    • Callimont
      (14 miles [22.5 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
    • Coal Run
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Coal Run is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Run
    • Meyersdale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Glade City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Glade City is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade City
    • West Meyersdale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • West Meyersdale is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Meyersdale
    • Summit Mills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Summit Mills is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Mills
    • Hays Mill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Hays Mill is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays Mill
    • Fairhope
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Grant County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midland, with the one closest to Midland listed first.
    • Greenland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Greenland is located in Grant County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
    • Medley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Hampshire County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midland, with the one closest to Midland listed first.
    • Donaldson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Donaldson is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
    • 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
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Wapocomo is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapocomo
    • Vance
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Vance is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
    • Junction
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Junction is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
    • Romney
      (19 miles [30.6 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>
    • Points
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Points is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Points
    • 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
    • Okonoko
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Okonoko is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okonoko
    • Higginsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Higginsville is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginsville
    • Augusta
      (26 miles [41.8 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
  • Mineral County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midland, with the one closest to Midland listed first.
    • Short Gap
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Short Gap is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Gap
    • Carpendale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Carpendale is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpendale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 900 people
    • Wiley Ford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Piedmont
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Ridgeley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Keyser
      (10 miles [16.1 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>
    • Fort Ashby
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Windom ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Windom is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
    • Headsville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Headsville is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
    • New Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Shaw
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Shaw is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
    • Burlington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Elk Garden
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Morgan County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Midland, with the one closest to Midland listed first.
    • Paw Paw
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Magnolia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Magnolia is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
    • Hansrote
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Hansrote is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansrote
    • Doe Gully
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Doe Gully is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Gully
    • Orleans Cross Roads
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Orleans Cross Roads is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans Cross Roads
  • Preston County (WV)
    • Orr
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Orr is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr

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

Cemeteries Near Midland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Midland.

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

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

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

  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Old Coney Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • 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>
  • Neff Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Warner Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Barlett Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Moscow Mills Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Moore Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Beeman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Hutson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Loar Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Frostburg Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (249 more) ...
    • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • St. Gabriels Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Waxler 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Midland had railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Midland had a population of 410 people.

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

  • Ocean
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Ocean is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean
  • Carlos
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Carlos is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlos
  • Lonaconing
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Borden Shaft
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Borden Shaft is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Shaft
  • Vale Summit
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Vale Summit is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale Summit
  • Clarysville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Clarysville is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarysville
  • Eckhart Mines
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Eckhart Mines is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckhart Mines
  • Frostburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Barton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Barton is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
  • Rawlings
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Bier
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bier is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bier
  • Pinto
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Pinto is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinto
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Black Oak
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Black Oak is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Oak
    • Seymour
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Seymour is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
    • Brady
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Brady is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady

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

Newspapers Published in Midland ...

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 71 newspapers that have been published in the area around Midland.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Midland, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Midland.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Midland:

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 Midland, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Midland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.