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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 Rockville (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 Rockville. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Rockville is located in Montgomery County and is the County Seat.

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 Montgomery County: Frederick, Howard, Prince George's, Fairfax (VA) & Loudoun (VA).

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

  • Montgomery County     (The home county of Rockville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockville, with the one closest to Rockville listed first.
    • Hungerford Towne
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Hungerford Towne is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hungerford Towne
    • Rockland
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Rock Creek Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Rock Creek Village is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek Village
    • Derwood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Avery
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Halpine Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Halpine Village is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halpine Village
    • Montrose
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Washington Grove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Washington Grove is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 551 people
    • North Bethesda
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Aspen Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Gaithersburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Georgetown Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Georgetown Village is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown Village
    • Garrett Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Anne Arundel County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockville, with the one closest to Rockville listed first.
    • Maryland City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Maryland City is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryland City
    • Annapolis Junction
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Jessup
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Dorsey
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Dorsey is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorsey
    • Geraghty Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Geraghty Village is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geraghty Village
    • Lake Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Lake Village is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Village
    • Harmans
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Harmans is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmans
    • Meade Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Meade Village is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meade Village
    • Odenton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Pioneer City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Pioneer City is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer City
    • Severn Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Severn Village is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Severn Village
    • Severn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Crofton Village Green
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Crofton Village Green is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crofton Village Green
  • Baltimore City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockville, with the one closest to Rockville listed first.
    • Beechfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Oaklee Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Oaklee Village is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaklee Village
    • Violetville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Carroll
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Carroll is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
    • Edmondson Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Edmondson Village is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmondson Village
    • Gwynn Oak
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Colonial Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Colonial Village is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
  • Baltimore County
  • Carroll County
  • Frederick County
  • Howard County
  • Prince George's County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockville, with the one closest to Rockville listed first.
    • Adelphi
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Langley Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Chillum
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Beltsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • West Laurel
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • West Laurel is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Laurel
    • Berwyn
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Berwyn is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwyn
    • College Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Hyattsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • University Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • University Park is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,628 people
    • Berwyn Heights
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Brentwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Brentwood is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brentwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,439 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brentwood <1>
    • Cottage City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Cottage City is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,355 people
    • Hyattsville Hills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Alexandria City (VA)
  • Arlington County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockville, with the one closest to Rockville listed first.
    • Garden City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Garden City is located in Arlington County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
    • Riverwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Williamsburg Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Williamsburg Village is located in Arlington County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg Village
    • Cherrydale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Colonial Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Colonial Village is located in Arlington County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • Lyon Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Lyon Village is located in Arlington County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyon Village
    • Arlington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Brandon Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Brandon Village is located in Arlington County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon Village
    • Buckingham
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Arlington Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Arlington Village is located in Arlington County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington Village
  • Fairfax City (VA)
  • Fairfax County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockville, with the one closest to Rockville listed first.
    • Langley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Great Falls
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • McLean
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Salona Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Salona Village is located in Fairfax County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salona Village
    • Springvale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Ash Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Ash Grove is located in Fairfax County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash Grove
    • Kenmore
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Shouse Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Shouse Village is located in Fairfax County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shouse Village
    • Pimmit Hills
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Pimmit Hills is located in Fairfax County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pimmit Hills
    • Tysons Corner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Wolf Trap
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Wolf Trap is located in Fairfax County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Trap
    • Dunn Loring
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Idylwood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Idylwood is located in Fairfax County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idylwood
  • Falls Church City (VA)
  • Fauquier County (VA)
  • Loudoun County (VA)
  • Manassas City (VA)
  • Manassas Park City (VA)
    • Manassas Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Prince William County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockville, with the one closest to Rockville listed first.
    • Yorkshire
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Yorkshire is located in Prince William County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire
    • Yorkshire Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Yorkshire Village is located in Prince William County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire Village
    • Catharpin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Loch Lomond
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Loch Lomond is located in Prince William County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loch Lomond
    • Sudley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Sudley is located in Prince William County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sudley
    • West Gate
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • West Gate is located in Prince William County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Gate
    • Lake Ridge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Buckhall
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bull Run
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Bull Run is located in Prince William County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull Run
    • Crestwood Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Crestwood Village is located in Prince William County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestwood Village
    • Iron Gate
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Iron Gate is located in Prince William County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
    • Agnewville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Bataan Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bataan Village is located in Prince William County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bataan Village

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

Cemeteries Near Rockville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rockville.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rockville, with the one closest to Rockville 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 Rockville had a population of 1,568 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Rockville had a population of 69,512 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Rockville ...

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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rockville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Rockville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Rockville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Rockville.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 4 miles [6.4 km]<5> of Rockville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Rockville:

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>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.
<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 Rockville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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 from Point A (ie- Rockville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.