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 Hilltown (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 Hilltown. 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 southeast 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 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.
Hilltown 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 Hilltown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hilltown:
- Adams County (The home county of Hilltown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltown, with the one closest to Hilltown listed first.
- Cashtown
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Cashtown is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
- Cashtown - McKnightstown
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Mummasburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Mummasburg is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mummasburg
- Arendtsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Trust
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Trust is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
- Orrtanna
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- McKnightstown Station
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Seven Stars
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Seven Stars is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
- Goldenville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Goldenville is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldenville
- Biglerville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Virginia Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Virginia Mills is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Mills
- Fairfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltown, with the one closest to Hilltown listed first.
- Lees Cross Roads
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Lees Cross Roads is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Cross Roads
- Shippensburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Huntsdale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Huntsdale is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsdale
- Hunters Run
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hunters Run is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Run
- Montsera
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Montsera is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montsera
- 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
- Barnitz
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Barnitz is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnitz
- Mount Holly Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Newville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Newburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Craighead
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Craighead is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craighead
- 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 Hilltown, with the one closest to Hilltown listed first.
- Caledonia Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Caledonia Park is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia Park
- Mount Union
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mount Union is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
- Brownsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Brownsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Fayetteville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Mont Alto
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- West Fayetteville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- West Fayetteville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fayetteville
- Beartown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Beartown is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beartown
- Monterey
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Monterey is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
- Blue Ridge Summit
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Nunnery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Nunnery is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunnery
- Altenwald
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Altenwald is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altenwald
- Guilford
(13 miles [20.9 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
- Perry County
- New Germantown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- York County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltown, with the one closest to Hilltown listed first.
- Uniontown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Uniontown is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Hanover
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Pennville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Pennville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennville
- Parkville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Parkville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkville
- Mount Top
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Top is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Top
- Dillsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- La Bott
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- La Bott is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Bott
- Roler
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Roler is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roler
- Wellsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bandanna
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bandanna is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandanna
- Davidsburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Davidsburg is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davidsburg
- Harmony Grove
(25 miles [40.2 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 Hilltown, with the one closest to Hilltown listed first.
- Harney
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Harney is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harney
- Keysville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Keysville is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
- Crabster ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Crabster is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crabster
- Fairground Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fairground Village is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairground Village
- Taneytown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bruceville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Bruceville is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville
- Keymar
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Bark Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bark Hill is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bark Hill
- Tyrone
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Tyrone is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
- Union Bridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Uniontown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Uniontown is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Frizzellburg
(25 miles [40.2 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 Hilltown, with the one closest to Hilltown listed first.
- Emmitsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Sabillasville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Thurmont
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Jimtown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Jimtown is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown
- Rocky Ridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Creagerstown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Creagerstown is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creagerstown
- 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
- Ladiesburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Ladiesburg is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladiesburg
- New Midway
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- New Midway is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Midway
- Woodsboro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Centerville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Centerville is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Mountaindale
(26 miles [41.8 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 Hilltown, with the one closest to Hilltown listed first.
- Highfield - Cascade
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- 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 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
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Hill Village is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Village
- Leitersburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Leitersburg is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leitersburg
- Smithsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cavetown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cavetown is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavetown
- Greenvale Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Greenvale Village is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvale Village
- Chewsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Chewsville is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chewsville
- Pondsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pondsville is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pondsville
- Fountainhead - Orchard Hills
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Long Meadow
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Meadow
- Paramount - Long Meadow
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Paramount - Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paramount - Long Meadow
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hilltown, see our County-by-County Page for Hilltown.
Cemeteries Near Hilltown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hilltown.
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 Hilltown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hilltown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hilltown, with the one closest to Hilltown listed first.
- Flohrs Lutheran Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Greenmount Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lower Marsh Creek Presbyterian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Blacks Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Strang Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- McClelland Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Biglerville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fairfield Union Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Soldiers National Cemetery at Gettysburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (265 more) ...
- Soldiers National Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Gettysburg National Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Fountaindale Lutheran Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 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 Hilltown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Hilltown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hilltown, with the one closest to Hilltown listed first.
- Cashtown
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Cashtown is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
- McKnightstown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Orrtanna
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Mummasburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Mummasburg is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mummasburg
- Arendtsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Trust
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Trust is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
- Seven Stars
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Seven Stars is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
- Brysonia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Brysonia is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brysonia
- Goldenville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Goldenville is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldenville
- Graefenburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Graefenburg is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graefenburg
- Virginia Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Virginia Mills is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Mills
- Biglerville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Fairfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Table Rock
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Table Rock is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Table Rock
- Guernsey
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Guernsey is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guernsey
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hilltown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hilltown.
Newspapers Published in Hilltown ...
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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hilltown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hilltown, 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 Hilltown.
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 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 Hilltown:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Adams County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cumberland County
- Franklin County
- Huntingdon 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 Hilltown, 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- Hilltown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |