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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 Knowles 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 Knowles 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 Knowles 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 Knowles Crossroads: Knowles Xrds.
  • While the name of this community is Knowles Crossroads, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Knowles Crossroads may originally have been Knowle's Crossroads.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Knowles Crossroads might be written as Knowle 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

Knowles 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 Knowles Crossroads. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Knowles Crossroads:

  • Sussex County     (The home county of Knowles Crossroads)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Knowles Crossroads, with the one closest to Knowles Crossroads listed first.
    • Georgetown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Blades
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Blades is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blades
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,498 people
    • Seaford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Millsboro
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Mission
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Mission is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission
    • Laurel
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Heritage Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Heritage Village is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Village
    • Ross
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Ross is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
    • Ellendale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Harbeson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bridgeville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bethel
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Knowles Crossroads, with the one closest to Knowles Crossroads listed first.
    • Williamsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Williamsville is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsville
    • Farmington
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Milford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Adamsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Adamsville is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
    • Andrewsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Andrewsville is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrewsville
    • Houston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Church Hill Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Church Hill Village is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Church Hill Village
    • Harrington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Woods Haven
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Woods Haven is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Haven
    • Hickman
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Hickman is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
    • Vernon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Vernon is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
    • Brownsville
      (21 miles [33.8 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 Knowles Crossroads, with the one closest to Knowles Crossroads listed first.
    • Federalsburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Hickman
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Hickman is located in Caroline County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
    • Hynson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Hynson is located in Caroline County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hynson
    • Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Grove is located in Caroline County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove
    • Preston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Preston is located in Caroline County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 700 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Preston <2>
    • Denton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Denton is located in Caroline County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,538 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Denton <2>
    • Whiteleysburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Whiteleysburg is located in Caroline County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteleysburg
    • Oil City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Oil City is located in Caroline County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
    • Tuckahoe Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Tuckahoe Springs is located in Caroline County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckahoe Springs
    • Bethlehem
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Bethlehem is located in Caroline County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
    • Griffin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Griffin is located in Caroline County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
    • Greensboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Dorchester County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Knowles Crossroads, with the one closest to Knowles Crossroads listed first.
    • Reliance
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Reliance is located in Dorchester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reliance
    • Galestown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Galestown is located in Dorchester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galestown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • Finchville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Finchville is located in Dorchester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finchville
    • Eldorado
      (18 miles [29 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
    • Walnut Landing
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Walnut Landing is located in Dorchester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Landing
    • Brookview
      (19 miles [30.6 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
    • Marshyhope Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Marshyhope Village is located in Dorchester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshyhope Village
    • Williamsburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Williamsburg is located in Dorchester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
    • Rhodesdale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Hurlock
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Hurlock is located in Dorchester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurlock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,007 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hurlock <2>
    • Rabbit Town
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Rabbit Town is located in Dorchester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
    • Vienna
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Vienna is located in Dorchester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vienna <2>
  • Somerset County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Knowles Crossroads, with the one closest to Knowles Crossroads listed first.
    • Eden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Eden is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
    • Loretto
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Loretto is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loretto
  • Wicomico County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Knowles Crossroads, with the one closest to Knowles Crossroads listed first.
    • Delmar
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 <2>
    • Sharptown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Sharptown is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharptown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 664 people
    • Pittsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Parsonsburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Willards
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • 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 <2>
    • New Hope
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • New Hope is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
    • White Plains
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • White Plains is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
    • Cedar Hurst Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Cedar Hurst Village is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hurst Village
    • Hebron
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Hebron is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,096 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hebron <2>
    • Salisbury
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Salisbury is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33,017 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Salisbury <2>
    • Mardela Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 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
    • Rockawalking Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Rockawalking Village is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockawalking Village
  • Worcester County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Knowles Crossroads, with the one closest to Knowles Crossroads listed first.
    • Bishop
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Bishop is located in Worcester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
    • Whaleyville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Bishopville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Showell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Showell is located in Worcester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Showell
    • Ocean Pines
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Berlin
      (25 miles [40.2 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>
    • Ocean Bay City
      (27 miles [43.5 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
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • North Ocean City is located in Worcester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ocean City
    • Newark
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Ocean City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • West Ocean City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • West Ocean City is located in Worcester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Ocean City

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

Cemeteries Near Knowles Crossroads ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Knowles 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 Knowles Crossroads - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Asbury Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Providence Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Cokesbury Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Hebron Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • St. Thomas Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Union Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Concord Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Carey Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Reed Family Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Faith Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Blades Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (188 more) ...
    • Mt. Zion Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Macedonia Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Odd Fellows Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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.<5>

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

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

  • Sycamore
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Sycamore is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
  • Shortly
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Shortly is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shortly
  • Georgetown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Concord
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Concord is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
  • Stockley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Stockley is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockley
  • Redden
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Redden is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redden
  • Middleford
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Middleford is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleford
  • Robbins
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Robbins is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robbins
  • Broad Creek
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Broad Creek is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broad Creek
  • Bennum
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Bennum is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennum
  • Seaford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Laurel
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Lowes Crossroads
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Lowes Crossroads is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowes Crossroads
    • Mission
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Mission is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission
    • Millsboro
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Knowles 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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Knowles Crossroads.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Knowles Crossroads, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Knowles Crossroads.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Knowles Crossroads:

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 '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- Knowles 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 Knowles Crossroads, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.