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 Cowans Village (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 Cowans Village. 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 Cowans Village ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Cowans Village: Cowans Vlg. (in Canada, 'Vlge.' is the more common abbreviation.)
- While the name of this community is Cowans Village, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Cowans Village may originally have been Cowan's Village.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Cowans Village might be written as Cowan Village.
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.
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 hospitals and 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.
Cowans Village is located in Franklin 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 Franklin County: Frederick (MD), Washington (MD), Adams, Cumberland, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata & Perry.
Below are the counties that are near Cowans Village. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Cowans Village:
- Franklin County (The home county of Cowans Village)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowans Village, with the one closest to Cowans Village listed first.
- Metal
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Metal is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metal
- Freestone
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Freestone is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freestone
- Fort Loudon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Keefers
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Keefers is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keefers
- Saint Thomas
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cove Gap
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Cove Gap is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Gap
- Dickey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Dickey is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickey
- Markes
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Markes is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markes
- Cheesetown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Cheesetown is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheesetown
- Rockdale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rockdale is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Williamson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Williamson is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamson
- Mercersburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowans Village, with the one closest to Cowans Village listed first.
- Trust
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Trust is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
- Cashtown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Cashtown is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowans Village, with the one closest to Cowans Village listed first.
- Breezewood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Coaldale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Coaldale is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
- Graceville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Graceville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graceville
- Hopewell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Saxton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Langdondale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Langdondale is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langdondale
- Riddlesburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Riddlesburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riddlesburg
- Marble City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Marble City is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble City
- Everett
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Yellow Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Yellow Creek is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
- Woodbury
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Dallas
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Mount Dallas is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Dallas
- Blair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowans Village, with the one closest to Cowans Village listed first.
- Clover Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Clover Creek is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Creek
- Beavertown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Beavertown is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beavertown
- Martinsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowans Village, with the one closest to Cowans Village listed first.
- Shippensburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Newburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lees Cross Roads
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lees Cross Roads is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Cross Roads
- Washington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Washington is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington
- Big Spring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Big Spring is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Newville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowans Village, with the one closest to Cowans Village listed first.
- Knobsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Knobsville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knobsville
- Fort Littleton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Burnt Cabins
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Burnt Cabins is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Cabins
- McConnellsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Clear Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Clear Ridge is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Ridge
- Harrisonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Harrisonville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisonville
- Laidig
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Laidig is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laidig
- Waterfall
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Ridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Ridge is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
- Websters Mill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Websters Mill is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Websters Mill
- Sipes Mill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sipes Mill is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipes Mill
- Valley-Hi
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Valley-Hi is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley-Hi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowans Village, with the one closest to Cowans Village listed first.
- Maddensville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Maddensville is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maddensville
- Selea
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Selea is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selea
- Neelyton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Neelyton is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neelyton
- Shade Gap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Three Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Pogue
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Pogue is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pogue
- Saltillo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Saltillo is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saltillo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 328 people
- Orbisonia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Rockhill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Rockhill is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockhill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
- Rockhill has also been known as:
- Rockhill Furnace
- Joller ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Joller is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joller
- Kimmel
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kimmel is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimmel
- Robertsdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Robertsdale is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robertsdale
- Juniata County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowans Village, with the one closest to Cowans Village listed first.
- Waterloo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Waterloo is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
- Perulack
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Perulack is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perulack
- Peru Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Peru Mills is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru Mills
- East Rutherford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- East Rutherford is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rutherford
- Mifflin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowans Village, with the one closest to Cowans Village listed first.
- Kistler
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Kistler is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
- Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
- Newton Hamilton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Newton Hamilton is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 198 people
- Perry County
- New Germantown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Washington County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowans Village, with the one closest to Cowans Village listed first.
- Fairview
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Fairview is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Clear Spring
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Maugansville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Huyett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Huyett is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huyett
- Wilson - Conococheague
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Wilson - Conococheague is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson - Conococheague
- Fountainhead - Orchard Hills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Long Meadow
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Meadow
- Paramount - Long Meadow
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Paramount - Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paramount - Long Meadow
- Hill Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hill Village is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Village
- Hancock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Big Pool
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Hagerstown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hagerstown is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagerstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39,918 people
- Former name for Hagerstown:
- Hager's Town
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hagerstown <2>
- Berkeley County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowans Village, with the one closest to Cowans Village listed first.
- Little Georgetown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Little Georgetown is located in Berkeley County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Georgetown
- Falling Waters
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Morgan County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowans Village, with the one closest to Cowans Village listed first.
- Sleepy Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Sleepy Creek is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleepy Creek
- Hancock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hancock is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
- Cherry Run
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Cherry Run is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Run
- Holton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Holton is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holton
- Bath
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bath is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
- Population from the 2020 Census: 587 people
- Berkeley Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Cowans Village, see our County-by-County Page for Cowans Village.
Cemeteries Near Cowans Village ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cowans Village.
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 Cowans Village - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Cowans Village covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cowans Village, with the one closest to Cowans Village listed first.
- Ft. Littleton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Lower Path Valley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Horse Valley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cree Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Cromwell Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Big Spring Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Maddensville Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Walnut Grove Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Fleming Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fair Ridge Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Wible Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Booth Family Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (251 more) ...
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Locke Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Ramsey Family Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
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>
While we didn't find Cowans Village in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cowans Village.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Cowans Village, with the one closest to Cowans Village listed first.
- Richmond Furnace
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Richmond Furnace is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Furnace
- Metal
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Metal is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metal
- Knobsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Knobsville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knobsville
- Freestone
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Freestone is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freestone
- Fort Littleton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Burnt Cabins
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Burnt Cabins is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Cabins
- McConnellsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fort Loudon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Edenville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Edenville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenville
- Fannettsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hustontown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Decorum
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Decorum is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decorum
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Clear Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Clear Ridge is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Ridge
- Harrisonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Harrisonville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisonville
- Maddensville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Maddensville is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maddensville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Cowans Village. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cowans Village.
Newspapers Published in Cowans Village ...
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 91 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cowans Village.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cowans Village, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cowans Village.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Cowans Village:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Franklin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Bedford County
- Blair County
- Cumberland County
- Fulton County
- Huntingdon County
- Juniata County
- Mifflin County
- Perry County
- Washington County
- Berkeley County
- Morgan County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Cowans Village, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Cowans Village) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |