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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 Rockville (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 Rockville. 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 doctors and 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.

Rockville is located in Chester County.

To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Chester County: New Castle (DE), Cecil (MD), Berks, Delaware, Lancaster & Montgomery.

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

  • Chester County     (The home county of Rockville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockville, with the one closest to Rockville listed first.
    • Birdell
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Birdell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdell
      • Birdell is located in Chester County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Birdell
      • From Rockville to Birdell
    • Cupola
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cupola. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cupola
      • Cupola is located in Chester County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cupola
      • From Rockville to Cupola
    • Dampman
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Suplee
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Isabella
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Isabella. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
      • Isabella is located in Chester County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Isabella
      • From Rockville to Isabella
    • Cedar Knoll
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Honey Brook
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Honey Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Brook
      • Honey Brook is located in Chester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,756 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Honey Brook <3>
    • Springton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Springton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springton
      • Springton is located in Chester County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Springton
      • From Rockville to Springton
    • Loag
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Cambridge
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cambridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
      • Cambridge is located in Chester County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cambridge
      • From Rockville to Cambridge
    • Cornog
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cornog. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornog
      • Cornog is located in Chester County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cornog
      • From Rockville to Cornog
    • Elverson
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Compass
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Berks County
  • Delaware County
  • Indiana County
    • Ernest
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ernest. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ernest
      • Ernest is located in Indiana County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 431 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ernest
      • From Rockville to Ernest
  • Lancaster County
  • Lebanon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockville, with the one closest to Rockville listed first.
    • Stricklerstown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Newmanstown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newmanstown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newmanstown
      • Newmanstown is located in Lebanon County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newmanstown <3>
    • Johnstown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnstown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
      • Johnstown is located in Lebanon County
    • Schaefferstown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Sheridan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sheridan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
      • Sheridan is located in Lebanon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sheridan
      • From Rockville to Sheridan
    • Richland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Montgomery County
  • New Castle County (DE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockville, with the one closest to Rockville listed first.
    • Yorklyn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Southwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Southwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwood
      • Southwood is located in New Castle County (DE)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Southwood
      • From Rockville to Southwood
    • Vintage Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vintage Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vintage Village
      • Vintage Village is located in New Castle County (DE)
    • Ashland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ashland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
      • Ashland is located in New Castle County (DE)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ashland
      • From Rockville to Ashland
    • Centreville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hockessin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • North Star
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Star have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Star
      • North Star is located in New Castle County (DE)
    • York Towne
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for York Towne have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York Towne
      • York Towne is located in New Castle County (DE)
    • Mount Cuba
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mount Cuba. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cuba
      • Mount Cuba is located in New Castle County (DE)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mount Cuba
      • From Rockville to Mount Cuba
    • Mendenhall Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mendenhall Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendenhall Village
      • Mendenhall Village is located in New Castle County (DE)
    • Cokesbury Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cokesbury Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokesbury Village
      • Cokesbury Village is located in New Castle County (DE)
    • Winterthur
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winterthur have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winterthur
      • Winterthur is located in New Castle County (DE)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winterthur <3>
    • Greenville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Cecil County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockville, with the one closest to Rockville listed first.
    • Old Line Village of Fair Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Line Village of Fair Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Line Village of Fair Hill
      • Old Line Village of Fair Hill is located in Cecil County (MD)
    • Blake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Blake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
      • Blake is located in Cecil County (MD)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Blake
      • From Rockville to Blake
    • Fair Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fair Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Hill
      • Fair Hill is located in Cecil County (MD)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fair Hill
      • From Rockville to Fair Hill
    • Appleton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Appleton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
      • Appleton is located in Cecil County (MD)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Appleton
      • From Rockville to Appleton
    • Blue Ball Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Ball Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Ball Village
      • Blue Ball Village is located in Cecil County (MD)
    • Calvert
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Sylmar
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sylmar. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylmar
      • Sylmar is located in Cecil County (MD)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sylmar
      • From Rockville to Sylmar
    • Mason Dixon Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mason Dixon Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Dixon Village
      • Mason Dixon Village is located in Cecil County (MD)
    • Andora
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Cherry Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Elk Mills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elk Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Mills
      • Elk Mills is located in Cecil County (MD)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elk Mills <3>
    • Rising Sun
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rising Sun have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
      • Rising Sun is located in Cecil County (MD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,784 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rising Sun <3>
    • West Creek Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Creek Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Creek Village
      • West Creek Village is located in Cecil County (MD)

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

Cemeteries Near Rockville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rockville.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rockville, with the one closest to Rockville 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rockville had a population of 263 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Birdell
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Birdell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdell
    • Birdell is located in Chester County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Birdell
    • From Rockville to Birdell
  • Cupola
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cupola. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cupola
    • Cupola is located in Chester County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Cupola
    • From Rockville to Cupola
  • Martins Corner
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martins Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martins Corner
    • Martins Corner is located in Chester County
  • Brandamore
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandamore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandamore
    • Brandamore is located in Chester County
  • Brandywine Manor
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandywine Manor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandywine Manor
    • Brandywine Manor is located in Chester County
  • Dampman
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Lewis Mills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lewis Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis Mills
    • Lewis Mills is located in Chester County
  • Wyebrooke
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wyebrooke have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyebrooke
    • Wyebrooke is located in Chester County
  • Suplee
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Cedar Knoll
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Barneston
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barneston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barneston
    • Barneston is located in Chester County
  • Isabella
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Isabella. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
    • Isabella is located in Chester County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Isabella
    • From Rockville to Isabella
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Fontaine
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fontaine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontaine
      • Fontaine is located in Chester County
    • Honey Brook
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Honey Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Brook
      • Honey Brook is located in Chester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,756 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Honey Brook <3>
    • Wagontown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wagontown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagontown
      • Wagontown is located in Chester County

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

Newspapers Published in Rockville ...

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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rockville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rockville, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rockville.

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 Rockville:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rockville. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Chester County: www.chesco.org/

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 Rockville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rockville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rockville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.0763, Longitude: -75.8563       In this case, the coordinates for Rockville have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025