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 Brysonia (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 Brysonia. 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.
Brysonia is located in Adams County.
To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Adams County: Carroll (MD), Frederick (MD), Cumberland, Franklin & York.
Below are the counties that are near Brysonia. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Brysonia:
- Adams County (The home county of Brysonia)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brysonia, with the one closest to Brysonia listed first.
- Arendtsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Guernsey
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Guernsey is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guernsey
- Bendersville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Biglerville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Aspers
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mummasburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Mummasburg is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mummasburg
- Cashtown - McKnightstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Goldenville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Goldenville is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldenville
- Table Rock
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Table Rock is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Table Rock
- Cashtown
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Cashtown is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
- Trust
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Trust is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
- Gardners
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brysonia, with the one closest to Brysonia listed first.
- Huntsdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Huntsdale is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsdale
- Montsera
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Montsera is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montsera
- Hunters Run
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hunters Run is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Run
- Lees Cross Roads
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lees Cross Roads is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Cross Roads
- Barnitz
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Barnitz is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnitz
- Mount Holly Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Big Spring
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Big Spring is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Shippensburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Craighead
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Craighead is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craighead
- Newville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Boiling Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bears Crossroads
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Bears Crossroads is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bears Crossroads
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brysonia, with the one closest to Brysonia listed first.
- Caledonia Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Caledonia Park is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia Park
- Mount Union
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Mount Union is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
- Brownsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Brownsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Fayetteville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- West Fayetteville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- West Fayetteville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fayetteville
- Mont Alto
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Green Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Green Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Village
- Pinola
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Pinola is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinola
- Altenwald
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Altenwald is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altenwald
- Beartown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Beartown is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beartown
- Blue Ridge Summit
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Guilford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Guilford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford
- Huntingdon County
- Neelyton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Neelyton is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neelyton
- Juniata County
- Waterloo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Waterloo is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brysonia, with the one closest to Brysonia listed first.
- Alinda
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Alinda is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alinda
- Landisburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Centre
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Centre is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre
- Cisna Run
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Cisna Run is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisna Run
- Falling Spring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Falling Spring is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Spring
- New Germantown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bixler
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Bixler is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixler
- Elliottsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Elliottsburg is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliottsburg
- Kistler
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Kistler is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
- York County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brysonia, with the one closest to Brysonia listed first.
- Uniontown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Uniontown is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Mount Top
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Top is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Top
- Dillsburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Pennville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pennville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennville
- Roler
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Roler is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roler
- Wellsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Hanover
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Davidsburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Davidsburg is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davidsburg
- Harmony Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Harmony Grove is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Grove
- La Bott
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- La Bott is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Bott
- Parkville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Parkville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkville
- Rossville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Rossville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossville
- Carroll County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brysonia, with the one closest to Brysonia listed first.
- Harney
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Harney is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harney
- Taneytown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Crabster ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Crabster is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crabster
- Fairground Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Fairground Village is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairground Village
- Keysville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Keysville is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
- Bruceville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Bruceville is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville
- Keymar
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Tyrone
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Tyrone is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
- Bark Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Bark Hill is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bark Hill
- Uniontown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Uniontown is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Union Bridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Frizzellburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Frizzellburg is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frizzellburg
- Frizzellburg has also been known as:
- Frizels
- Frederick County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brysonia, with the one closest to Brysonia listed first.
- Emmitsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Sabillasville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Rocky Ridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Thurmont
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Jimtown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Jimtown is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown
- Ladiesburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ladiesburg is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladiesburg
- Catoctin Furnace
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Catoctin Furnace is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catoctin Furnace
- Creagerstown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Creagerstown is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creagerstown
- New Midway
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- New Midway is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Midway
- Woodsboro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Centerville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Centerville is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Mountaindale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Mountaindale is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountaindale
- Washington County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brysonia, with the one closest to Brysonia listed first.
- Highfield - Cascade
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Highfield - Cascade is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfield - Cascade
- Pen Mar
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Pen Mar is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pen Mar
- Pen Mar has also been known as:
- Pen Mar Park
- Hill Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hill Village is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Village
- Leitersburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Leitersburg is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leitersburg
- Smithsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cavetown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cavetown is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavetown
- Greenvale Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Greenvale Village is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvale Village
- Chewsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Chewsville is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chewsville
- Paramount - Long Meadow
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Paramount - Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paramount - Long Meadow
- Pondsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pondsville is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pondsville
- Fountainhead - Orchard Hills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Long Meadow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Meadow
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Brysonia, see our County-by-County Page for Brysonia.
Cemeteries Near Brysonia ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brysonia.
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 Brysonia - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Brysonia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Brysonia, with the one closest to Brysonia listed first.
- Greenmount Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Biglerville Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Flohrs Lutheran Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Blacks Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Lower Marsh Creek Presbyterian Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Great Conewago Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Goodyear Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- McClelland Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Gettysburg National Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Soldiers National Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (247 more) ...
- Strang Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Soldiers National Cemetery at Gettysburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
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 in 1895, Brysonia had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Brysonia, with the one closest to Brysonia listed first.
- Arendtsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Biglerville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Guernsey
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Guernsey is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guernsey
- Floradale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Floradale is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floradale
- Bendersville Station - Aspers
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bendersville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mummasburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Mummasburg is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mummasburg
- Aspers
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Trust
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Trust is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
- Cashtown
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Cashtown is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
- McKnightstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Goldenville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Goldenville is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldenville
- Continue List (23 more) ...
- Table Rock
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Table Rock is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Table Rock
- Pine Grove Furnace
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Pine Grove Furnace is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove Furnace
- Seven Stars
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Seven Stars is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Brysonia. See our List of 1890's Communities around Brysonia.
Newspapers Published in Brysonia ...
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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brysonia.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Brysonia, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Brysonia.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Brysonia:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Adams County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cumberland County
- Franklin County
- Huntingdon County
- Juniata County
- Perry County
- York County
- Carroll County
- Frederick County
- Washington County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
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 Brysonia, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Brysonia) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |