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 Mechanicsburg (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 Mechanicsburg. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Mechanicsburg is located in Hampshire County.
To see how the shape of West Virginia's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Hampshire County: Allegany (MD), Frederick (VA), Hardy, Mineral & Morgan.
Below are the counties that are near Mechanicsburg. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mechanicsburg:
- Hampshire County (The home county of Mechanicsburg)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsburg, with the one closest to Mechanicsburg listed first.
- Romney
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Junction
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Junction is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
- Vance
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Vance is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
- Wapocomo
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Wapocomo is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapocomo
- Ritters
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ritters is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritters
- Augusta
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Three Churches
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Three Churches is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Churches
- Springfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Points
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Points is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Points
- Donaldson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Donaldson is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
- Higginsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Higginsville is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginsville
- Sedan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sedan is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedan
- Grant County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsburg, with the one closest to Mechanicsburg listed first.
- Medley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Greenland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Greenland is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
- Lahmansville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lahmansville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lahmansville
- Arthur
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Arthur is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
- Maysville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Maysville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
- Seymourville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Seymourville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymourville
- Petersburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bayard
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Bayard is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Hardy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsburg, with the one closest to Mechanicsburg listed first.
- Inkerman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Inkerman is located in Hardy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inkerman
- Fort Run
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Fort Run is located in Hardy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Run
- Baker
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Baker is located in Hardy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
- Moorefield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wardensville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Durgon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Durgon is located in Hardy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durgon
- Lost City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Mineral County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsburg, with the one closest to Mechanicsburg listed first.
- Headsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Headsville is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
- Burlington
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Fort Ashby
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Keyser
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- New Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Short Gap
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Short Gap is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Gap
- Piedmont
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Windom ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Windom is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
- Shaw
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Shaw is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
- Sulphur City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Sulphur City is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur City
- Elk Garden
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Hartmansville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Hartmansville is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartmansville
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsburg, with the one closest to Mechanicsburg listed first.
- Paw Paw
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Magnolia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Magnolia is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Hansrote
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hansrote is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansrote
- Doe Gully
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Doe Gully is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Gully
- Orleans Cross Roads
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Orleans Cross Roads is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans Cross Roads
- Allegany County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsburg, with the one closest to Mechanicsburg listed first.
- Rawlings
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Frost ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Frost is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
- Pinto
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Pinto is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinto
- Spring Gap
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Spring Gap is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Gap
- Luke
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Luke is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luke
- Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
- Westernport
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Brady
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Brady is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
- Cresaptown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Oldtown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Barton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Barton is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
- Moscow
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Moscow is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Nikep
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Nikep is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nikep
- Garrett County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsburg, with the one closest to Mechanicsburg listed first.
- Bloomington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bloomington is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
- Kitzmiller
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Schell
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Schell is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
- Avilton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Avilton is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
- Swanton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Altamont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Altamont is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
- Bittinger
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Deer Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Fort Pendleton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Fort Pendleton is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Pendleton
- Loch Lynn Heights
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Loch Lynn Heights is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loch Lynn Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 525 people
- Mountain Lake Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Mountain Lake Park is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,065 people
- Bedford County (PA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsburg, with the one closest to Mechanicsburg listed first.
- Cooks Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
- Stringtown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Stringtown is located in Bedford County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Somerset County (PA)
- Wellersburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Wellersburg is located in Somerset County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellersburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
- Frederick County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsburg, with the one closest to Mechanicsburg listed first.
- Lehew
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lehew is located in Frederick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lehew
- Good
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Good is located in Frederick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good
- Rock Enon Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Rock Enon Springs is located in Frederick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Enon Springs
- Nordic Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Nordic Village is located in Frederick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nordic Village
- Mountain Falls
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Falls is located in Frederick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Falls
- Collinsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Collinsville is located in Frederick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
- Cross Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Rosenberger
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Rosenberger is located in Frederick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosenberger
- Hayfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hayfield is located in Frederick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayfield
- Shockeysville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Shockeysville is located in Frederick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shockeysville
- Siler
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Siler is located in Frederick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siler
- Fawcett Gap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fawcett Gap is located in Frederick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawcett Gap
- Shenandoah County (VA)
- Zepp
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Zepp is located in Shenandoah County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zepp
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Mechanicsburg, see our County-by-County Page for Mechanicsburg.
Cemeteries Near Mechanicsburg ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mechanicsburg.
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 Mechanicsburg - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Mechanicsburg covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Mechanicsburg, with the one closest to Mechanicsburg listed first.
- Indian Mound Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Whip Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Bever Run Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Schoemaker Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Miller McCarty Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Leatherman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Elijah High Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Greenwall Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebenezer Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Ebenezer Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the east of Romney.
- The Ebenezer Cemetery has also been known as:
- Ebenezer UMC Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1098821 <3>
- Ludwick Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Staggs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (238 more) ...
- Thrush Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Roderick Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Michaels Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
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 Mechanicsburg in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Mechanicsburg.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Mechanicsburg, with the one closest to Mechanicsburg listed first.
- Romney
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Junction
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Junction is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
- Headsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Headsville is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
- Wapocomo
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Wapocomo is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapocomo
- Burlington
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Reeses Mill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Reeses Mill is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeses Mill
- Purgitsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Purgitsville is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purgitsville
- Grace
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Grace is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace
- Glebe ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Glebe is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glebe
- Ruckman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ruckman is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruckman
- Augusta
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Barnes Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Barnes Mill is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes Mill
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Three Churches
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Three Churches is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Churches
- Ridgeville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Ridgeville is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Springfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Mechanicsburg. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mechanicsburg.
Newspapers Published in Mechanicsburg ...
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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mechanicsburg.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mechanicsburg, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mechanicsburg.
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 Mechanicsburg:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Hampshire County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Grant County
- Hardy County
- Mineral County
- Morgan County
- Allegany County
- Garrett County
- Bedford County
- Somerset County
- Frederick County
- Shenandoah County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for West Virginia
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Mechanicsburg) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Mechanicsburg, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |