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 Hitchens Crossroads (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 Hitchens Crossroads. 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 Hitchens Crossroads ...
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.
- A typical abbreviation for Hitchens Crossroads: Hitchens Xrds.
- While the name of this community is Hitchens Crossroads, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Hitchens Crossroads may originally have been Hitchen's Crossroads.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Hitchens Crossroads might be written as Hitchen Crossroads.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Hitchens Crossroads 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 Hitchens Crossroads. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hitchens Crossroads:
- Sussex County (The home county of Hitchens Crossroads)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hitchens Crossroads, with the one closest to Hitchens Crossroads listed first.
- Mission
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mission is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission
- Ward
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Ward is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward
- Laurel
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Georgetown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Blades
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Blades is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blades
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,498 people
- Bethel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Millsboro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Seaford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Heritage Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Heritage Village is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Village
- Ross
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ross is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
- Delmar
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dagsboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Kent County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hitchens Crossroads, with the one closest to Hitchens Crossroads listed first.
- Farmington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Adamsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Adamsville is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Andrewsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Andrewsville is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrewsville
- Williamsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Williamsville is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsville
- Hickman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hickman is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
- Houston
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Milford
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Church Hill Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Church Hill Village is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Church Hill Village
- Harrington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Woods Haven
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Woods Haven is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Haven
- Vernon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Vernon is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Brownsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Brownsville is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Caroline County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hitchens Crossroads, with the one closest to Hitchens Crossroads listed first.
- Federalsburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Hickman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hickman is located in Caroline County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
- Hynson
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hynson is located in Caroline County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hynson
- Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Grove is located in Caroline County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove
- Preston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Bethlehem
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bethlehem is located in Caroline County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
- Denton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Oil City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Oil City is located in Caroline County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
- Tuckahoe Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Tuckahoe Springs is located in Caroline County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckahoe Springs
- Whiteleysburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Whiteleysburg is located in Caroline County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteleysburg
- Tanyard
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Tanyard is located in Caroline County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanyard
- Dorchester County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hitchens Crossroads, with the one closest to Hitchens Crossroads listed first.
- Galestown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Galestown is located in Dorchester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galestown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Reliance
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Reliance is located in Dorchester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reliance
- Walnut Landing
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Walnut Landing is located in Dorchester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Landing
- Brookview
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Brookview is located in Dorchester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
- Eldorado
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Eldorado is located in Dorchester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
- Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
- Finchville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Finchville is located in Dorchester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finchville
- Marshyhope Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Marshyhope Village is located in Dorchester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshyhope Village
- Rabbit Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Rabbit Town is located in Dorchester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Rhodesdale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Vienna
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Williamsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Williamsburg is located in Dorchester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
- Hurlock
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Somerset County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hitchens Crossroads, with the one closest to Hitchens Crossroads listed first.
- Eden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Eden is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Loretto
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Loretto is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loretto
- Princess Anne
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Vernon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Vernon is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Wicomico County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hitchens Crossroads, with the one closest to Hitchens Crossroads listed first.
- Delmar
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Pittsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Parsonsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- White Plains
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- White Plains is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- New Hope
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Hope is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Willards
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sharptown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Sharptown is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharptown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 664 people
- Cedar Hurst Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Hurst Village is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hurst Village
- Hebron
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Salisbury
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Powellville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Powellville is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellville
- Mardela Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mardela Springs is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mardela Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 351 people
- Worcester County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hitchens Crossroads, with the one closest to Hitchens Crossroads listed first.
- Whaleyville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bishop
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bishop is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Bishopville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Showell
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Showell is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Showell
- Ocean Pines
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Berlin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- 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 <2>
- Newark
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ocean Bay City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ocean Bay City is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean Bay City
- North Ocean City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- North Ocean City is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ocean City
- West Ocean City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- West Ocean City is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Ocean City
- Ocean City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cedartown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Cedartown is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedartown
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hitchens Crossroads, see our County-by-County Page for Hitchens Crossroads.
Cemeteries Near Hitchens Crossroads ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hitchens Crossroads.
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 Hitchens Crossroads - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hitchens Crossroads covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hitchens Crossroads, with the one closest to Hitchens Crossroads listed first.
- St. Thomas Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Asbury Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Carey Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Providence Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- New Mt. Zion Methodist Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Laurel Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Laurel Hill Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Laurel.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #104388 <3>
- Odd Fellows Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odd Fellows Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Odd Fellows Cemetery is located outside and to the southwest of Laurel.
- Smith Mills Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Mills Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Smith Mills Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<4> to the northeast of Delmar.
- The Smith Mills Cemetery has also been known as:
- Little Creek Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2375541 <3>
- Concord Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Old Field Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Field Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Old Field Cemetery is located outside and to the southwest of Millsboro.
- Union Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (201 more) ...
- Hebron Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Blades Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
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>
While we didn't find Hitchens Crossroads in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Hitchens Crossroads.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hitchens Crossroads, with the one closest to Hitchens Crossroads listed first.
- Sycamore
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sycamore is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
- Lowes Crossroads
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lowes Crossroads is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowes Crossroads
- Shortly
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Shortly is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shortly
- Laurel
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Ward
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Ward is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward
- Mission
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mission is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission
- Concord
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Concord is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Broad Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Broad Creek is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broad Creek
- Stockley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Stockley is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockley
- Whitesville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Whitesville is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Gumboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Gumboro is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gumboro
- Georgetown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Middleford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Middleford is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleford
- Bethel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Millsboro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hitchens Crossroads. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hitchens Crossroads.
Newspapers Published in Hitchens Crossroads ...
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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hitchens Crossroads.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hitchens Crossroads, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hitchens Crossroads.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Hitchens Crossroads:
- Websites specific to Delaware
- Pages specific to Sussex County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Kent County
- Caroline County
- Dorchester County
- Somerset County
- Wicomico County
- Worcester County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Delaware
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Hitchens Crossroads) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Hitchens Crossroads, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |