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 Germantown (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 Germantown. 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 Germantown ...
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.
Another variation: German Town.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Germantown. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Germantown.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.
Germantown 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 Germantown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Germantown:
- Franklin County (The home county of Germantown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
- Fayetteville
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Brownsville
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Brownsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- West Fayetteville
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- West Fayetteville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fayetteville
- Mount Union
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Union is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
- Caledonia Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Caledonia Park is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia Park
- Mont Alto
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Guilford
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Guilford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford
- New Franklin
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- New Franklin is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Franklin
- Green Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Green Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Village
- Altenwald
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Altenwald is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altenwald
- Chambersburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Guilford Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Guilford Springs is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford Springs
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
- Trust
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Trust is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
- Cashtown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Cashtown is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
- Cashtown - McKnightstown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Orrtanna
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- McKnightstown Station
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Virginia Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Virginia Mills is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Mills
- Arendtsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Mummasburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Mummasburg is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mummasburg
- Seven Stars
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Seven Stars is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
- Fairfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jacks Mountain
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jacks Mountain is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacks Mountain
- Carroll Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
- Shippensburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Lees Cross Roads
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lees Cross Roads is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Cross Roads
- Newburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Big Spring
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Big Spring is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Huntsdale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Huntsdale is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsdale
- Washington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Washington is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington
- Montsera
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Montsera is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montsera
- Newville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Barnitz
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Barnitz is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnitz
- Hunters Run
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hunters Run is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Run
- Bears Crossroads
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bears Crossroads is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bears Crossroads
- Mount Holly Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
- Burnt Cabins
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Burnt Cabins is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Cabins
- Knobsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Knobsville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knobsville
- McConnellsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Fort Littleton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Clear Ridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Clear Ridge is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Ridge
- 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
- Harrisonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Harrisonville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisonville
- Laidig
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Laidig is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laidig
- Pleasant Ridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Ridge is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
- Waterfall
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
- Neelyton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Neelyton is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neelyton
- Shade Gap
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Blairs Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Blairs Mills is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairs Mills
- Maddensville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Maddensville is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maddensville
- Orbisonia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pogue
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pogue is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pogue
- Selea
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Selea is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selea
- Rockhill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Three Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Juniata County
- The following are listed by their distance from Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
- Waterloo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Waterloo is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
- Perulack
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Perulack is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perulack
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
- New Germantown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Centre
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Centre is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre
- Cisna Run
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Cisna Run is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisna Run
- York County
- The following are listed by their distance from Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
- Uniontown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Uniontown is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Hanover
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Mount Top
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Mount Top is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Top
- 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 Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
- Harney
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Harney is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harney
- Keysville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Keysville is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
- Crabster ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Crabster is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crabster
- Taneytown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bruceville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bruceville is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville
- Fairground Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Fairground Village is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairground Village
- Keymar
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Frederick County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
- Sabillasville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Emmitsburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Thurmont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Jimtown
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Jimtown is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown
- Catoctin Furnace
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Catoctin Furnace is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catoctin Furnace
- Rocky Ridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Creagerstown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Creagerstown is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creagerstown
- Pleasant Walk
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Walk is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Walk
- New Midway
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Midway is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Midway
- Mountaindale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Mountaindale is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountaindale
- Myersville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ladiesburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ladiesburg is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladiesburg
- Washington County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
- Highfield - Cascade
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Highfield - Cascade is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfield - Cascade
- Pen Mar
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- 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
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Hill Village is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Village
- Leitersburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Leitersburg is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leitersburg
- Smithsburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Fountainhead - Orchard Hills
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Long Meadow
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Meadow
- Maugansville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Paramount - Long Meadow
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Paramount - Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paramount - Long Meadow
- Cavetown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Cavetown is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavetown
- Chewsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Chewsville is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chewsville
- Greenvale Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Greenvale Village is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvale Village
- Berkeley County (WV)
- Falling Waters
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Germantown, see our County-by-County Page for Germantown.
Cemeteries Near Germantown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Germantown.
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 Germantown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Germantown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
- New Guilford Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Strang Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Chambersburg Mennonite Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Corpus Christi Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Spring Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Veterans Memorial Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Antietam Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- 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>
- Myers Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Gods Acre Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Flohrs Lutheran Church Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Green Hill Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Continue List (250 more) ...
- Cedar Hill Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- German Reformed Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German Reformed Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the German Reformed Cemetery is located in Greencastle.
- The German Reformed Cemetery has also been known as:
- Reformed Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2261256 <2>
- Harbaugh Church Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 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.<3>
While we didn't find Germantown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Germantown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Germantown, with the one closest to Germantown listed first.
- Fayetteville
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Woodstock
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Woodstock is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Duffield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Duffield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffield
- Pond Bank
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Pond Bank is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Bank
- Scotland
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Graefenburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Graefenburg is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graefenburg
- New Franklin
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- New Franklin is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Franklin
- Mont Alto
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Altenwald
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Altenwald is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altenwald
- Knepper
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Knepper is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knepper
- Green Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Green Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Village
- Chambersburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Guilford Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Guilford Springs is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford Springs
- Trust
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Trust is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
- Five Forks
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- 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 Germantown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Germantown.
Newspapers Published in Germantown ...
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 112 newspapers that have been published in the area around Germantown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Germantown, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Germantown.
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 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 Germantown:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Franklin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Cumberland County
- Fulton County
- Huntingdon County
- Juniata County
- Perry County
- York County
- Carroll County
- Frederick County
- Washington County
- Berkeley 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 Germantown, 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 from Point A (ie- Germantown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |