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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 Graefenburg (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 Graefenburg. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

Graefenburg 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 Graefenburg. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Graefenburg:

  • Adams County     (The home county of Graefenburg)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graefenburg, with the one closest to Graefenburg listed first.
    • Trust
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Trust is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
    • Cashtown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Cashtown is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
    • Cashtown - McKnightstown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Orrtanna
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • McKnightstown Station
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Arendtsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Virginia Mills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Virginia Mills is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Mills
    • Mummasburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Mummasburg is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mummasburg
    • Seven Stars
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Seven Stars is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
    • Fairfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jacks Mountain
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jacks Mountain is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacks Mountain
    • Biglerville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graefenburg, with the one closest to Graefenburg listed first.
    • Shippensburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Lees Cross Roads
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Lees Cross Roads is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Cross Roads
    • Big Spring
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Big Spring is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
    • Huntsdale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Huntsdale is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsdale
    • Newburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Montsera
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Montsera is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montsera
    • Hunters Run
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Hunters Run is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Run
    • Newville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Barnitz
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Barnitz is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnitz
    • Washington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Washington is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington
    • Mount Holly Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Bears Crossroads
      (21 miles [33.8 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 Graefenburg, with the one closest to Graefenburg listed first.
    • Caledonia Park
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Caledonia Park is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia Park
    • Mount Union
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Mount Union is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
    • Brownsville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Brownsville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
    • Fayetteville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Mont Alto
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • West Fayetteville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • West Fayetteville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fayetteville
    • Altenwald
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Altenwald is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altenwald
    • Guilford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Guilford is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford
    • Nunnery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Nunnery is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunnery
    • Quincy
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • New Franklin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • New Franklin is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Franklin
    • Chambersburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graefenburg, with the one closest to Graefenburg listed first.
    • Burnt Cabins
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Burnt Cabins is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Cabins
    • Knobsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Knobsville is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knobsville
    • Fort Littleton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • McConnellsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Websters Mill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Websters Mill is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Websters Mill
  • Huntingdon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graefenburg, with the one closest to Graefenburg listed first.
    • Neelyton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Neelyton is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neelyton
    • Shade Gap
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Blairs Mills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Blairs Mills is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairs Mills
    • Maddensville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Maddensville is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maddensville
  • Juniata County
    • Waterloo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Waterloo is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
  • Perry County
  • York County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graefenburg, with the one closest to Graefenburg listed first.
    • Uniontown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Uniontown is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
    • Pennville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Pennville is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennville
    • Hanover
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Parkville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Parkville is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkville
    • Mount Top
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Top is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Top
    • Dillsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • La Bott
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • La Bott is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Bott
    • Roler
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Roler is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roler
    • Wellsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Bandanna
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Bandanna is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandanna
    • Davidsburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Davidsburg is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davidsburg
    • Harmony Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Harmony Grove is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Grove
  • Carroll County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graefenburg, with the one closest to Graefenburg listed first.
    • Harney
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Harney is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harney
    • Keysville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Keysville is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
    • Crabster ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Crabster is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crabster
    • Taneytown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bruceville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Bruceville is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville
    • Fairground Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairground Village is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairground Village
    • Keymar
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Bark Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Bark Hill is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bark Hill
    • Tyrone
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Tyrone is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
    • Union Bridge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Linwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Linwood is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood
    • Uniontown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Uniontown is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
  • Frederick County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graefenburg, with the one closest to Graefenburg listed first.
    • Sabillasville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Emmitsburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Thurmont
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Thurmont is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thurmont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,070 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thurmont <1>
    • Jimtown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Jimtown is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown
    • Rocky Ridge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Catoctin Furnace
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Catoctin Furnace is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catoctin Furnace
    • Creagerstown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Creagerstown is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creagerstown
    • New Midway
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • New Midway is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Midway
    • Ladiesburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Ladiesburg is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladiesburg
    • Pleasant Walk
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Pleasant Walk is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Walk
    • Mountaindale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Mountaindale is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountaindale
    • Woodsboro
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Woodsboro is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodsboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,302 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodsboro <1>
  • Washington County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graefenburg, with the one closest to Graefenburg listed first.
    • Highfield - Cascade
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Highfield - Cascade is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfield - Cascade
    • Pen Mar
      (12 miles [19.3 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 southwest)
      • Hill Village is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Village
    • Leitersburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Leitersburg is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leitersburg
    • Cavetown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Cavetown is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavetown
    • Smithsburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • 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
    • Long Meadow
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Meadow
    • Paramount - Long Meadow
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Paramount - Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paramount - Long Meadow
    • Chewsville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Chewsville is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chewsville
    • Fountainhead - Orchard Hills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Maugansville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Graefenburg ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Graefenburg.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Graefenburg, with the one closest to Graefenburg 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 Graefenburg had a population of 40 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Trust
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Trust is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
  • Pond Bank
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Pond Bank is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Bank
  • Fayetteville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Cashtown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Cashtown is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
  • Duffield
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Duffield is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffield
  • Mont Alto
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Orrtanna
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Woodstock
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Woodstock is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
  • Knepper
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Knepper is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knepper
  • McKnightstown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Altenwald
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Altenwald is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altenwald
  • Virginia Mills
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Virginia Mills is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Mills
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Arendtsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Brysonia
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Brysonia is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brysonia
    • Scotland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Graefenburg ...

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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Graefenburg.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Graefenburg, 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 Graefenburg.

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 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 Graefenburg:

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 Graefenburg, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Graefenburg) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.