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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 Sharpsburg (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 Sharpsburg. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Sharpsburg is located in Washington County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Washington County: Allegany, Frederick, Franklin (PA), Fulton (PA), Loudoun (VA), Berkeley (WV), Jefferson (WV) & Morgan (WV).

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

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

Cemeteries Near Sharpsburg ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sharpsburg.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Antietam National Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Reformed Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reformed Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reformed Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • First Methodist Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Mumma Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mumma Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mumma Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Elmwood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elmwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elmwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Shepherds Graveyard
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shepherds Graveyard
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shepherds Graveyard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Reformed Graveyard
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reformed Graveyard
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reformed Graveyard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Briar Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Briar Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Briar Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Hebron Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Hebron Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Hebron Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Salem Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (367 more) ...
    • Rohersville Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rohersville Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rohersville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Buckles - Reverend Black Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Buckles - Reverend Black Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Buckles - Reverend Black Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Mt. Carmel Graveyard
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Carmel Graveyard
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Carmel Graveyard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Sharpsburg had a population of 1,163 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Sharpsburg had a population of 643 people.

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

  • Antietam
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Shepherdstown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shepherdstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shepherdstown
    • Shepherdstown is located in Jefferson County (WV)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,922 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shepherdstown <2>
  • Eakles Mills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Keedysville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keedysville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keedysville
    • Keedysville is located in Washington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,220 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keedysville <2>
  • Bakersville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bakersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
    • Bakersville is located in Washington County
  • Grimes
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grimes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grimes
    • Grimes is located in Washington County
  • Trego
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Trego. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trego
    • Trego is located in Washington County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Trego
    • From Sharpsburg to Trego
  • Rohrersville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rohrersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rohrersville
    • Rohrersville is located in Washington County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rohrersville <2>
  • Boonsboro
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boonsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
    • Boonsboro is located in Washington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,655 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boonsboro <2>
  • Fairplay
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairplay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplay
    • Fairplay is located in Washington County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fairplay <2>
  • Uvilla
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Uvilla have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uvilla
    • Uvilla is located in Jefferson County (WV)
  • Bakerton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bakerton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakerton
    • Bakerton is located in Jefferson County (WV)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Downsville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Downsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downsville
      • Downsville is located in Washington County
    • Breathedsville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Lappans
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lappans. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lappans
      • Lappans is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lappans
      • From Sharpsburg to Lappans

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Sharpsburg ...

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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sharpsburg.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Sharpsburg. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Sharpsburg and those printed in the larger area surrounding Sharpsburg.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<7> of Sharpsburg.

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 either 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 Sharpsburg:

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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.
<5>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.
<6>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 Sharpsburg, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>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 from Point A (ie- Sharpsburg) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sharpsburg. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4582, Longitude: -77.7488