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 Cress (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 Cress. 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 doctors 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.
Cress 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 Cress. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Cress:
- Franklin County (The home county of Cress)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cress, with the one closest to Cress listed first.
- Wayne Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Wayne Heights is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayne Heights
- Rouzerville
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Rouzerville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rouzerville
- Waynesboro
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Beartown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Beartown is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beartown
- Pen Mar
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Pen Mar is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pen Mar
- Nunnery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Nunnery is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunnery
- Zullinger
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Zullinger is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zullinger
- Monterey
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Monterey is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
- Quincy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Blue Ridge Summit
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Waynecastle
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Waynecastle is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waynecastle
- Wingerton
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Wingerton is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingerton
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cress, with the one closest to Cress listed first.
- Jacks Mountain
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jacks Mountain is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacks Mountain
- Carroll Valley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Fairfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Zora
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Zora is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zora
- Virginia Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Virginia Mills is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Mills
- Orrtanna
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cashtown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cashtown is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
- Greenmount
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Greenmount is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenmount
- Cashtown - McKnightstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- McKnightstown Station
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Trust
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Trust is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
- Seven Stars
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Seven Stars is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cress, with the one closest to Cress listed first.
- Shippensburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Lees Cross Roads
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Lees Cross Roads is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Cross Roads
- Newburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Big Spring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Big Spring is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Huntsdale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Huntsdale is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsdale
- Montsera
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Montsera is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montsera
- Hunters Run
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hunters Run is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Run
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cress, with the one closest to Cress listed first.
- McConnellsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Websters Mill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Websters Mill is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Websters Mill
- Knobsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Knobsville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knobsville
- Burnt Cabins
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Burnt Cabins is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Cabins
- Fort Littleton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- York County
- Pennville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Pennville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennville
- Carroll County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cress, with the one closest to Cress listed first.
- Keysville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Keysville is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
- Harney
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Harney is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harney
- Bruceville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bruceville is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville
- Keymar
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Crabster ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Crabster is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crabster
- Taneytown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Fairground Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Fairground Village is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairground Village
- Union Bridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bark Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bark Hill is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bark Hill
- Uniontown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Uniontown is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Linwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Linwood is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood
- McKinstrys Mill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- McKinstrys Mill is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKinstrys Mill
- Frederick County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cress, with the one closest to Cress listed first.
- Sabillasville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Thurmont
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Catoctin Furnace
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Catoctin Furnace is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catoctin Furnace
- Emmitsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Walk
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Walk is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Walk
- Jimtown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jimtown is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown
- Myersville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Creagerstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Creagerstown is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creagerstown
- Rocky Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mountaindale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mountaindale is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountaindale
- Frostown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Frostown is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frostown
- Bolivar
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bolivar is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolivar
- Washington County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cress, with the one closest to Cress listed first.
- Pen Mar
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- 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
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hill Village is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Village
- Highfield - Cascade
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Highfield - Cascade is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfield - Cascade
- Leitersburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Leitersburg is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leitersburg
- Smithsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cavetown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Cavetown is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavetown
- Greenvale Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Greenvale Village is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvale Village
- Chewsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Chewsville is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chewsville
- Paramount - Long Meadow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Paramount - Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paramount - Long Meadow
- Bridgeport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bridgeport is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
- Fountainhead - Orchard Hills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Long Meadow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Meadow
- Berkeley County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cress, with the one closest to Cress listed first.
- Falling Waters
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Scrabble
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Scrabble is located in Berkeley County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scrabble
- Bedington
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Bedington is located in Berkeley County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedington
- Little Georgetown
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Little Georgetown is located in Berkeley County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Georgetown
- Swan Pond
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Swan Pond is located in Berkeley County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Pond
- Hedgesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Baker Heights
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Baker Heights is located in Berkeley County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Heights
- Martinsburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cress, with the one closest to Cress listed first.
- Shepherdstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Harpers Ferry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lower Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lower Town is located in Jefferson County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Town
- Bolivar
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Bolivar is located in Jefferson County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolivar
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,018 people
- Bardane
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bardane is located in Jefferson County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bardane
- Morgan County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cress, with the one closest to Cress listed first.
- Cherry Run
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Cherry Run is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Run
- Sleepy Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Sleepy Creek is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleepy Creek
- Holton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Holton is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holton
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Cress, see our County-by-County Page for Cress.
Cemeteries Near Cress ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cress.
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 Cress - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Cress covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cress, with the one closest to Cress listed first.
- Ringgold Graveyard
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Harbaugh Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Green Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Welty Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Stouffers Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Antietam Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antietam Church Cemetery
- The Antietam Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Prices Church Cemetery
- Trinity Fellowship Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1753915 <2>
- Millers Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. James Graveyard
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Pauls Lutheran Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Pauls Graveyard
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Germantown Bethel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Smithsburg Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (309 more) ...
- Trinity Graveyard
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Beards Graveyard
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Christ Reformed Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
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>
While we didn't find Cress in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cress.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Cress, with the one closest to Cress listed first.
- Ringgold
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Ringgold is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringgold
- Midvale
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Midvale is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
- Waynesboro
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Blue Mountain
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Blue Mountain is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
- Roadside
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Roadside is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roadside
- Pen Mar
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Pen Mar is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pen Mar
- Zullinger
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Zullinger is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zullinger
- Nunnery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Nunnery is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunnery
- Leitersburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Leitersburg is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leitersburg
- Edgemont
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Edgemont is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgemont
- Highfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Highfield is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfield
- Quincy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Smithsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Blue Ridge Summit
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Five Forks
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Five Forks is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Cress. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cress.
Newspapers Published in Cress ...
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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cress.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cress, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cress.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Cress:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Franklin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Cumberland County
- Fulton County
- York County
- Carroll County
- Frederick County
- Washington County
- Berkeley County
- Jefferson County
- Morgan 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> | 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 Cress, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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 from Point A (ie- Cress) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |