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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 Towson (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 Towson. 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.

Name Variations for Towson ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Towson was originally named Towsontown

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Towson. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Towson.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

A Few Details for Towson ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

  • Towson was established in 1750.

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 and doctors 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.

Towson is located in Baltimore 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 Baltimore County: Anne Arundel, Baltimore City, Carroll, Harford, Howard & York (PA).

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

  • Baltimore County     (The home county of Towson)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Towson, with the one closest to Towson listed first.
    • Loch Raven Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Loch Raven Village is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loch Raven Village
    • Dulaney Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Dulaney Village is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dulaney Village
    • Hampton Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Hampton Village is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton Village
    • Hampton
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Hampton is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
    • Cowpen
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Cowpen is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpen
    • Lutherville - Timonium
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Lutherville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Brightside ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Brightside is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brightside
    • Lake
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Riderwood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Riderwood is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riderwood
    • Bosley ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Brooklandville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mays Chapel
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Mays Chapel is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mays Chapel
  • Anne Arundel County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Towson, with the one closest to Towson listed first.
    • Brooklyn Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Arundel Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Arundel Village is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arundel Village
    • Pumphrey
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Pumphrey is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pumphrey
    • Linthicum Heights
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Linthicum
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Linthicum is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linthicum
    • Patapsco
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Ferndale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Glen Burnie
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Riviera Beach
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Riviera Beach is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riviera Beach
    • Dorsey
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Dorsey is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorsey
    • Cohansey Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Cohansey Village is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cohansey Village
    • Harmans
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Harmans is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmans
    • Pine Grove Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Pine Grove Village is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove Village
  • Baltimore City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Towson, with the one closest to Towson listed first.
    • Homeland
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Homeland is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homeland
    • Guilford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Guilford is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford
    • Hampden
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Waverly
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Anthonyville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Lauraville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Lauraville is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lauraville
    • Charles Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Charles Village is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charles Village
    • Gardenville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Gardenville is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardenville
    • Woodberry
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Woodberry is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodberry
    • Colonial Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Colonial Village is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • Gwynn Oak
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Baltimore
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Old Town
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Old Town is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
  • Carroll County
  • Cecil County
  • Frederick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Towson, with the one closest to Towson listed first.
    • Sams Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Sams Creek is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sams Creek
    • Mount Airy Village West
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Oak Orchard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Harford County
  • Howard County
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Towson, with the one closest to Towson listed first.
    • Edesville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Rock Hall
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Betterton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Coleman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Worton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Lynch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Still Pond
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Still Pond is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Still Pond
    • Cliffs City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Cliffs City is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffs City
    • Pomona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Montgomery County
  • Prince George's County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Towson, with the one closest to Towson listed first.
    • Laurel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • West Laurel
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • West Laurel is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Laurel
    • South Laurel
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • South Laurel is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Laurel
    • Beltsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Collington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Glenn Dale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Boxwood Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Boxwood Village is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boxwood Village
  • York County (PA)

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

Cemeteries Near Towson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Towson.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Towson, with the one closest to Towson 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Towson had a population of 459 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Sheppard ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Sheppard is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheppard
  • Eudowood
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Eudowood is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eudowood
  • Woodbrook
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Woodbrook is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbrook
  • Lake
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Brightside ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Brightside is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brightside
  • Hollins ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Hollins is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollins
  • Homeland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Homeland is located in Baltimore City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homeland
  • Govanstown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Govanstown is located in Baltimore City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Govanstown
  • Timonium
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Cowpen
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Cowpen is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpen
  • Lutherville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Ruxton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Evergreen
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Evergreen is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
    • Parkville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bosley ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Towson ...

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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Towson.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Towson. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Towson and those printed in the larger area surrounding Towson.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 3 miles [4.8 km]<4> of Towson.

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 Towson:

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>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 Towson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Towson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.