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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 Shippensburg (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 Shippensburg. 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.

Shippensburg is primarily located in Cumberland County. A portion of Shippensburg extends into Franklin 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 Cumberland County: Adams, Dauphin, Franklin, Perry & York.

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

  • Cumberland County     (The home county of Shippensburg)
  • Adams County
  • Allegheny County
    • Bloomfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bloomfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
      • Bloomfield is located in Allegheny County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,255 people
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shippensburg, with the one closest to Shippensburg listed first.
    • Orrstown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Pinola
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pinola. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinola
      • Pinola is located in Franklin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pinola
      • From Shippensburg to Pinola
    • Mowersville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Green Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasant Hall
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Roxbury
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Fayetteville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fayetteville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
      • Fayetteville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fayetteville <3>
    • West Fayetteville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Fayetteville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fayetteville
      • West Fayetteville is located in Franklin County
    • Brownsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
      • Brownsville is located in Franklin County
    • Caledonia Park
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caledonia Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia Park
      • Caledonia Park is located in Franklin County
    • Mount Union
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Union have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
      • Mount Union is located in Franklin County
    • Chambersburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Cheesetown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shippensburg, with the one closest to Shippensburg listed first.
    • Burnt Cabins
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Fort Littleton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Littleton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Littleton
      • Fort Littleton is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Littleton <3>
    • Knobsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Clear Ridge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • McConnellsburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McConnellsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McConnellsburg
      • McConnellsburg is located in Fulton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 999 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McConnellsburg <3>
    • Harrisonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrisonville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisonville
      • Harrisonville is located in Fulton County
    • Waterfall
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Websters Mill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Laidig
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Laidig. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laidig
      • Laidig is located in Fulton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Laidig
      • From Shippensburg to Laidig
  • Huntingdon County
  • Juniata County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shippensburg, with the one closest to Shippensburg listed first.
    • Waterloo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Waterloo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
      • Waterloo is located in Juniata County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Waterloo
      • From Shippensburg to Waterloo
    • Perulack
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • East Rutherford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Rutherford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rutherford
      • East Rutherford is located in Juniata County
    • Peru Mills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • McCullochs Mills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Reeds Gap
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Doyles Mills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Mifflin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shippensburg, with the one closest to Shippensburg listed first.
    • Newton Hamilton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Kistler
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kistler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
      • Kistler is located in Mifflin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
  • Perry County
  • York County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shippensburg, with the one closest to Shippensburg listed first.
    • Uniontown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Uniontown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
      • Uniontown is located in York County
    • Dillsburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dillsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillsburg
      • Dillsburg is located in York County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,579 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dillsburg <3>
    • Mount Top
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Siddonsburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Wellsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wellsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellsville
      • Wellsville is located in York County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 253 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wellsville <3>
  • Carroll County (MD)
    • Harney
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Harney. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harney
      • Harney is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Harney
      • From Shippensburg to Harney
  • Frederick County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shippensburg, with the one closest to Shippensburg listed first.
    • Sabillasville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sabillasville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sabillasville
      • Sabillasville is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sabillasville <3>
    • Emmitsburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emmitsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmitsburg
      • Emmitsburg is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,270 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emmitsburg <3>
    • Thurmont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Washington County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shippensburg, with the one closest to Shippensburg listed first.
    • Highfield - Cascade
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Pen Mar
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Hill Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Village
      • Hill Village is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Leitersburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Fountainhead - Orchard Hills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Long Meadow
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Meadow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Meadow
      • Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Paramount - Long Meadow
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paramount - Long Meadow
      • Paramount - Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Smithsburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Maugansville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Cavetown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Chewsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chewsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chewsville
      • Chewsville is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Greenvale Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenvale Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvale Village
      • Greenvale Village is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Bridgeport
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bridgeport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
      • Bridgeport is located in Washington County (MD)

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

Cemeteries Near Shippensburg ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shippensburg.

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 Shippensburg covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Shippensburg, with the one closest to Shippensburg 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 Shippensburg had a population of 2,188 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Shippensburg had a population of 5,682 people.

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

  • Cleversburg
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cleversburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleversburg
    • Cleversburg is located in Cumberland County
  • Middle Spring
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middle Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Spring
    • Middle Spring is located in Cumberland County
  • Lees Cross Roads
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Mongul
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mongul have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mongul
    • Mongul is located in Franklin County
  • Orrstown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Mowersville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Green Village
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Scotland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
    • Scotland is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scotland <3>
  • Newburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
    • Newburg is located in Cumberland County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newburg <3>
  • Walnut Bottom
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Bottom have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Bottom
    • Walnut Bottom is located in Cumberland County
  • Oakville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
    • Oakville is located in Cumberland County
  • Lurgan
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lurgan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurgan
    • Lurgan is located in Franklin County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Stoughstown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stoughstown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoughstown
      • Stoughstown is located in Cumberland County
    • Big Spring
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Green Spring
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Spring
      • Green Spring is located in Cumberland County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Shippensburg ...

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 88 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shippensburg.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Shippensburg. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Shippensburg and those printed in the larger area surrounding Shippensburg.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<6> of Shippensburg.

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 helpful 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 Shippensburg:

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 Shippensburg, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Shippensburg) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shippensburg. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.0520, Longitude: -77.5168