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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 Holtwood (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 Holtwood. 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 and 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.

Holtwood is located in Lancaster 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 Lancaster County: Cecil (MD), Harford (MD), Berks, Chester, Dauphin, Lebanon & York.

Below are the counties that are near Holtwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Holtwood:

  • Lancaster County     (The home county of Holtwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holtwood, with the one closest to Holtwood listed first.
    • Mount Nebo
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Mount Nebo is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Nebo
    • Colemanville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Colemanville is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colemanville
    • Buck
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Buck is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
    • Benton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Benton is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
    • Truce
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Truce is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truce
    • Union
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Union is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Furniss
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Furniss is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furniss
    • Conestoga
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • McSparran
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • McSparran is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McSparran
    • Herrville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Herrville is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrville
    • Mechanic Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Mechanic Grove is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanic Grove
    • Highville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Highville is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highville
  • Chester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holtwood, with the one closest to Holtwood listed first.
    • Glen Roy
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Glen Roy is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Roy
    • Hopewell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Hopewell is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
    • Mount Vernon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Mount Vernon is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
    • Tweedale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Tweedale is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tweedale
    • Barnsley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Barnsley is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnsley
    • Oxford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Chrome
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Chrome is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chrome
    • Atglen
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Lenover
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Lenover is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenover
    • Daleville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Daleville is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daleville
    • Elkview
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Elkview is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkview
    • Parkesburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Lebanon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holtwood, with the one closest to Holtwood listed first.
    • Colebrook
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Colebrook is located in Lebanon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colebrook
    • Mount Gretna Heights
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Mount Gretna Heights is located in Lebanon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gretna Heights
    • Mount Gretna
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Timber Hills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Timber Hills is located in Lebanon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Hills
    • Lawn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Burd Coleman Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Burd Coleman Village is located in Lebanon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burd Coleman Village
    • Johnstown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Johnstown is located in Lebanon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
    • Miners Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Miners Village is located in Lebanon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miners Village
  • York County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holtwood, with the one closest to Holtwood listed first.
    • Slab
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Slab is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab
    • Kyleville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Kyleville is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyleville
    • Castle Fin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Castle Fin is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Fin
    • Airville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Goram
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Goram is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goram
    • Bryansville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Bryansville is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryansville
    • Susquehanna Trails
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Susquehanna Trails is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Susquehanna Trails
    • Slate Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Slate Hill is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Hill
    • Bruce
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Bruce is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruce
    • Delta
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Muddy Creek Forks
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Muddy Creek Forks is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddy Creek Forks
    • Fawn Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Baltimore County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holtwood, with the one closest to Holtwood listed first.
    • Gorsuch Mills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Gorsuch Mills is located in Baltimore County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorsuch Mills
    • Shane
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Shane is located in Baltimore County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shane
    • Trump
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Trump is located in Baltimore County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trump
    • Maryland Line
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Maryland Line is located in Baltimore County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryland Line
    • Stablersville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Stablersville is located in Baltimore County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stablersville
    • Freeland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Oakland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Oakland is located in Baltimore County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
    • Parkton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Walker
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Walker is located in Baltimore County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
    • White Hall
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Eklo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Eklo is located in Baltimore County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eklo
    • Monkton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Carroll County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holtwood, with the one closest to Holtwood listed first.
    • Young Mans Fancy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Young Mans Fancy is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Young Mans Fancy
    • Roller
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Roller is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roller
    • Lineboro
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Lineboro is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lineboro
    • Rockbrook Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Rockbrook Village is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockbrook Village
  • Cecil County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holtwood, with the one closest to Holtwood listed first.
    • Bald Friar ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bald Friar is located in Cecil County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Friar
    • Oakwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Oakwood is located in Cecil County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
    • Rock Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Rock Springs is located in Cecil County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Springs
    • Conowingo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Mason Dixon Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Mason Dixon Village is located in Cecil County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Dixon Village
    • Rowlandsville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Rowlandsville is located in Cecil County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowlandsville
    • Colora
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Liberty Grove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Liberty Grove is located in Cecil County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Grove
    • Rising Sun
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sylmar
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Sylmar is located in Cecil County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylmar
    • Rock Run
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Rock Run is located in Cecil County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Run
    • Port Deposit
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Harford County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holtwood, with the one closest to Holtwood listed first.
    • Cambria
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Cambria is located in Harford County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambria
    • Whiteford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Pylesville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Street
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Dublin
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Dublin is located in Harford County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
    • Scarboro
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Scarboro is located in Harford County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scarboro
    • Poole
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Poole is located in Harford County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poole
    • Conowingo Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Conowingo Village is located in Harford County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conowingo Village
    • Darlington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Chestnut Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Chestnut Hill is located in Harford County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
    • Kalmia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Kalmia is located in Harford County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalmia
    • Federal Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Federal Hill is located in Harford County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Federal Hill
  • Montgomery County (MD)
    • High Point Estates
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • High Point Estates is located in Montgomery County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point Estates

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

Cemeteries Near Holtwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Holtwood.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Holtwood, with the one closest to Holtwood listed first.

  • Mt. Nebo Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Drumore Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Airville United Presbyterian Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Bryansville UMC Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Chanceford Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Chestnut Level Presbyterian Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Marticville UMC Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Slate Ridge Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Conestoga UMC Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conestoga UMC Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Conestoga UMC Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Conestoga.
    • The Conestoga UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Conestoga Methodist Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2264305 <2>
  • Christ Covenant Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (298 more) ...
    • Coopers Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • New Providence Church of God Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Fawn AME Zion Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)

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 Holtwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Holtwood.

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

  • Sunnyburn
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Sunnyburn is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyburn
  • Slab
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Slab is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab
  • Fernglen
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Fernglen is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernglen
  • Mount Nebo
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Mount Nebo is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Nebo
  • Castle Fin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Castle Fin is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Fin
  • Drumore
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Pequea
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Rawlinsville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Rawlinsville is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawlinsville
  • Airville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Colemanville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Colemanville is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colemanville
  • Bridgeton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bridgeton is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
  • Woodbine
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodbine is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Bryansville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Bryansville is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryansville
    • Benton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Benton is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
    • Chestnut Level
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Chestnut Level is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Level

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

Newspapers Published in Holtwood ...

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 15 newspapers that have been published in the area around Holtwood.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Holtwood, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Holtwood.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Holtwood:

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Holtwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Holtwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.