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 Sandy Hook (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 Sandy Hook. 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 Sandy Hook ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
Another variation: Sandyhook.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sandy Hook. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sandy Hook.
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.
Sandy Hook 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 Sandy Hook. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sandy Hook:
- Franklin County (The home county of Sandy Hook)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Hook, with the one closest to Sandy Hook listed first.
- Keefers
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Keefers is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keefers
- Freestone
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Freestone is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freestone
- Cheesetown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cheesetown is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheesetown
- Saint Thomas
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Metal
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Metal is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metal
- Pleasant Hall
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Hall is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hall
- Chambersburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cowans Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Cowans Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowans Village
- Green Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Green Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Village
- Guilford Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Guilford Springs is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford Springs
- Fort Loudon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cashtown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Markes
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Markes is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markes
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Hook, with the one closest to Sandy Hook listed first.
- Trust
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Trust is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
- Cashtown
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Cashtown is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
- Cashtown - McKnightstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Orrtanna
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Arendtsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- McKnightstown Station
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Fairfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Virginia Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Virginia Mills is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Mills
- Mummasburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Mummasburg is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mummasburg
- Carroll Valley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jacks Mountain
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jacks Mountain is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacks Mountain
- Bendersville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Seven Stars
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Seven Stars is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Hook, with the one closest to Sandy Hook listed first.
- Breezewood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Coaldale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Coaldale is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
- Graceville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Graceville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graceville
- Hopewell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Saxton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Langdondale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Langdondale is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langdondale
- Riddlesburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Riddlesburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riddlesburg
- Marble City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Marble City is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble City
- Everett
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Yellow Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Yellow Creek is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Hook, with the one closest to Sandy Hook listed first.
- Shippensburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Newburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lees Cross Roads
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Lees Cross Roads is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Cross Roads
- Big Spring
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Big Spring is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Washington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Washington is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington
- Newville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Huntsdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Huntsdale is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsdale
- Montsera
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Montsera is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montsera
- Bears Crossroads
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bears Crossroads is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bears Crossroads
- Plainfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Barnitz
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Barnitz is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnitz
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Hook, with the one closest to Sandy Hook listed first.
- Burnt Cabins
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Burnt Cabins is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Cabins
- Knobsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Knobsville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knobsville
- Fort Littleton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- McConnellsburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Clear Ridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Clear Ridge is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Ridge
- Harrisonville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Harrisonville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisonville
- Websters Mill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Websters Mill is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Websters Mill
- Laidig
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Laidig is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laidig
- Waterfall
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Ridge
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Ridge is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
- Sipes Mill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Sipes Mill is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipes Mill
- Needmore
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Valley-Hi
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Valley-Hi is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley-Hi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Hook, with the one closest to Sandy Hook listed first.
- Neelyton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Neelyton is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neelyton
- Shade Gap
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Maddensville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Maddensville is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maddensville
- Selea
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Selea is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selea
- Pogue
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pogue is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pogue
- Three Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Orbisonia
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Rockhill
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- 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
- Saltillo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Saltillo is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saltillo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 328 people
- Blairs Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Blairs Mills is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairs Mills
- Joller ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Joller is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joller
- Kimmel
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Kimmel is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimmel
- Coles ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Coles is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coles
- Juniata County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Hook, with the one closest to Sandy Hook listed first.
- Waterloo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Waterloo is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
- Perulack
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Perulack is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perulack
- Peru Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Peru Mills is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru Mills
- East Rutherford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- East Rutherford is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rutherford
- Mifflin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Hook, with the one closest to Sandy Hook listed first.
- Kistler
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Kistler is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
- Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
- Newton Hamilton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Newton Hamilton is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 198 people
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Hook, with the one closest to Sandy Hook listed first.
- New Germantown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Cisna Run
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cisna Run is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisna Run
- Frederick County (MD)
- Sabillasville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Washington County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Hook, with the one closest to Sandy Hook listed first.
- Fairview
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Fairview is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Maugansville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Fountainhead - Orchard Hills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Long Meadow
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Meadow
- Paramount - Long Meadow
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Paramount - Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paramount - Long Meadow
- Hill Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hill Village is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Village
- Leitersburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Leitersburg is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leitersburg
- Huyett
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Huyett is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huyett
- Bridgeport
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Bridgeport is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
- Clear Spring
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Hagerstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Hagerstown is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagerstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39,918 people
- Former name for Hagerstown:
- Hager's Town
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hagerstown <1>
- Highfield - Cascade
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Highfield - Cascade is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfield - Cascade
- Pen Mar
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- 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
- Berkeley County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Hook, with the one closest to Sandy Hook listed first.
- Little Georgetown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Little Georgetown is located in Berkeley County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Georgetown
- Falling Waters
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Morgan County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Hook, with the one closest to Sandy Hook listed first.
- Sleepy Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sleepy Creek is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleepy Creek
- Cherry Run
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cherry Run is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Run
- Hancock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hancock is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sandy Hook, see our County-by-County Page for Sandy Hook.
Cemeteries Near Sandy Hook ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sandy Hook.
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 Sandy Hook - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sandy Hook covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sandy Hook, with the one closest to Sandy Hook listed first.
- Horse Valley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lower Path Valley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Corpus Christi Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Chambersburg Mennonite Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Myers Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cree Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Fleming Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Pine Grove Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fair Ridge Church Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Path Valley Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (231 more) ...
- Ft. Littleton Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Blair Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Possumtown Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
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 Sandy Hook in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sandy Hook.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sandy Hook, with the one closest to Sandy Hook listed first.
- Keefers
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Keefers is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keefers
- Edenville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Edenville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenville
- Freestone
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Freestone is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freestone
- Saint Thomas
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Fannettsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Upper Strasburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Upper Strasburg is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Strasburg
- Metal
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Metal is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metal
- Richmond Furnace
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Richmond Furnace is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Furnace
- Chambersburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Hall
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Hall is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hall
- Willow Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Fort Loudon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (22 more) ...
- Housum
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Housum is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Housum
- Guilford Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Guilford Springs is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford Springs
- Green Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Green Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Village
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sandy Hook. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sandy Hook.
Newspapers Published in Sandy Hook ...
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 115 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sandy Hook.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sandy Hook, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sandy Hook.
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 Sandy Hook:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Franklin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Bedford County
- Cumberland County
- Fulton County
- Huntingdon County
- Juniata County
- Mifflin County
- Perry County
- Frederick County
- Washington County
- Berkeley County
- Morgan 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 Sandy Hook, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Sandy Hook) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |