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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 Bethany Dunes (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 Bethany Dunes. 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 southwest 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 south.

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 south 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.

Bethany Dunes is located in Sussex County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Sussex County: Kent, Caroline (MD), Dorchester (MD), Wicomico (MD), Worcester (MD) & Cape May (NJ).

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

  • Sussex County     (The home county of Bethany Dunes)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethany Dunes, with the one closest to Bethany Dunes listed first.
    • Bethany Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Bethany Village is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany Village
    • Ocean Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Ocean Village is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean Village
    • Bethany Beach
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Ocean View
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • South Bethany
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Millville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Massey Landing
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Massey Landing is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massey Landing
    • Clarksville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Clarksville is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
    • Bayard
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Bayard is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayard
    • Blackwater Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Blackwater Village is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwater Village
    • Boyers Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Boyers Village is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyers Village
    • Bayville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Bayville is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayville
  • Wicomico County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethany Dunes, with the one closest to Bethany Dunes listed first.
    • New Hope
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • New Hope is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
    • Willards
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Willards is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willards
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,012 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Willards <1>
    • Pittsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Powellville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Powellville is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellville
    • Parsonsburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Whiton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Whiton is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
    • Delmar
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Delmar is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delmar
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,596 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Delmar <1>
    • White Plains
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • White Plains is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
  • Worcester County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethany Dunes, with the one closest to Bethany Dunes listed first.
    • Ocean Bay City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Ocean Bay City is located in Worcester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean Bay City
    • Bishopville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bishop
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Bishop is located in Worcester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
    • Ocean Pines
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • North Ocean City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • North Ocean City is located in Worcester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ocean City
    • Showell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Showell is located in Worcester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Showell
    • Ocean City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • West Ocean City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • West Ocean City is located in Worcester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Ocean City
    • Whaleyville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Berlin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Berlin is located in Worcester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,940 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Berlin <1>
    • Newark
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedartown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Cedartown is located in Worcester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedartown
  • Cape May County (NJ)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethany Dunes, with the one closest to Bethany Dunes listed first.
    • Cape May
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Cape May is located in Cape May County (NJ)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cape May
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,404 people
    • Cold Spring
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Cold Spring is located in Cape May County (NJ)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Spring
    • Diamond Beach
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Diamond Beach is located in Cape May County (NJ)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Beach
    • Erma
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Erma is located in Cape May County (NJ)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erma
    • North Cape May
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • North Cape May is located in Cape May County (NJ)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cape May

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

Cemeteries Near Bethany Dunes ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bethany Dunes.

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 Bethany Dunes - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Ocean View Presbyterian Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Banks Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • St. Georges Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Daisey Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisey Cemetery
    • The Daisey Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Rickards / Daisey Cemetery
    • Wilgus Road Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2589210 <2>
  • Wilgus Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Baker Family Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Friendship Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Millsboro Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Carey Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Long Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • St. Martins Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Redman Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redman Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Redman Cemetery is located outside and to the north of Dagsboro.
    • The Redman Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Millsboro Cemetery
  • Continue List   (89 more) ...
    • Red Men Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Golden Acres Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bishopville Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<3>

While we didn't find Bethany Dunes in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bethany Dunes.

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

  • Ocean View
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Millville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Bayard
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bayard is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayard
  • Bayville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Bayville is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayville
  • Roxana
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Roxana is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxana
  • Omar
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Omar is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omar
  • Bunting
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Bunting is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunting
  • Williamsville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Williamsville is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsville
  • Trinity
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Trinity is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity
  • Frankford
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Warwick
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Warwick is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwick
  • Bishopville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Rehoboth Beach
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Dagsboro
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Selbyville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Bethany Dunes ...

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 1 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bethany Dunes.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bethany Dunes, there are papers which were published within Less than 2 miles<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bethany Dunes.

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 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 Bethany Dunes:

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 Bethany Dunes, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bethany Dunes) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.