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 Midnight Thicket (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 Midnight Thicket. 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 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 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.
Midnight Thicket 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 Midnight Thicket. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Midnight Thicket:
- Sussex County (The home county of Midnight Thicket)
- The following are listed by their distance from Midnight Thicket, with the one closest to Midnight Thicket listed first.
- Laurel
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bethel
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Blades
(5 miles [8 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
- Seaford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ward
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ward is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward
- Heritage Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Heritage Village is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Village
- Ross
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ross is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
- Delmar
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Briar Hook
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Briar Hook is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briar Hook
- Reliance
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Reliance is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reliance
- Mission
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Mission is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission
- Bridgeville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Georgetown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kent County
- The following are listed by their distance from Midnight Thicket, with the one closest to Midnight Thicket listed first.
- Adamsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Adamsville is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Andrewsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Andrewsville is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrewsville
- Farmington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Hickman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hickman is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
- Vernon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Vernon is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Williamsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Williamsville is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsville
- Houston
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Milford
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Brownsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Brownsville is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- 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
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Woods Haven is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Haven
- Whiteleysburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Whiteleysburg is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteleysburg
- Caroline County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Midnight Thicket, with the one closest to Midnight Thicket listed first.
- Federalsburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hynson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hynson is located in Caroline County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hynson
- Hickman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hickman is located in Caroline County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
- Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Grove is located in Caroline County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove
- Preston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bethlehem
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bethlehem is located in Caroline County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
- Denton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Tanyard
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Tanyard is located in Caroline County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanyard
- Tuckahoe Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Tuckahoe Springs is located in Caroline County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckahoe Springs
- Oil City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Oil City is located in Caroline County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
- Whiteleysburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Whiteleysburg is located in Caroline County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteleysburg
- Griffin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Griffin is located in Caroline County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
- Greensboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dorchester County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Midnight Thicket, with the one closest to Midnight Thicket listed first.
- Galestown
(9 miles [14.5 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
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Reliance is located in Dorchester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reliance
- Walnut Landing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Walnut Landing is located in Dorchester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Landing
- Brookview
(13 miles [20.9 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
(13 miles [20.9 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
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Finchville is located in Dorchester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finchville
- Marshyhope Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Marshyhope Village is located in Dorchester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshyhope Village
- Rabbit Town
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Rabbit Town is located in Dorchester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Rhodesdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Vienna
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Williamsburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Williamsburg is located in Dorchester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
- Hurlock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- East New Market
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Somerset County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Midnight Thicket, with the one closest to Midnight Thicket listed first.
- Eden
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Eden is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Loretto
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Loretto is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loretto
- Princess Anne
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Mount Vernon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Vernon is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Talbot County (MD)
- Trappe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Wicomico County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Midnight Thicket, with the one closest to Midnight Thicket listed first.
- Delmar
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Sharptown
(10 miles [16.1 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
- Parsonsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Cedar Hurst Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Hurst Village is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hurst Village
- Hebron
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- 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
- Pittsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mardela Springs
(14 miles [22.5 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
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rockawalking Village is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockawalking Village
- Salisbury
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Centennial Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Centennial Village is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centennial Village
- Dogwood Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Dogwood Village is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood Village
- New Hope
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- New Hope is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Worcester County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Midnight Thicket, with the one closest to Midnight Thicket listed first.
- Whaleyville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bishop
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bishop is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- 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
- Berlin
(24 miles [38.6 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 <1>
- Ocean Pines
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Newark
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Snow Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- 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
- Ocean Bay City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ocean Bay City is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean Bay City
- West Ocean City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- West Ocean City is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Ocean City
- Cedartown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cedartown is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedartown
- Ocean City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Midnight Thicket, see our County-by-County Page for Midnight Thicket.
Cemeteries Near Midnight Thicket ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Midnight Thicket.
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 Midnight Thicket - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Midnight Thicket covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Midnight Thicket, with the one closest to Midnight Thicket listed first.
- New Mt. Zion Methodist Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- 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 <2>
- Odd Fellows Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- 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.
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Concord Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Asbury Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Smith Mills Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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]<3> 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 <2>
- Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Blades Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- St. Thomas Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Macedonia Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Odd Fellows Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (226 more) ...
- Woodland Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Ralphs Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- St. Stephens Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
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 Midnight Thicket in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Midnight Thicket.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Midnight Thicket, with the one closest to Midnight Thicket listed first.
- Laurel
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sycamore
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sycamore is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
- Broad Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Broad Creek is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broad Creek
- Concord
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Concord is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Bethel
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Middleford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Middleford is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleford
- Ward
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ward is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward
- Seaford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Woodland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Woodland is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
- Ross
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ross is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
- Delmar
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Lowes Crossroads
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Lowes Crossroads is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowes Crossroads
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Shortly
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Shortly is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shortly
- Columbia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Columbia is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
- Cannon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cannon is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Midnight Thicket. See our List of 1890's Communities around Midnight Thicket.
Newspapers Published in Midnight Thicket ...
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 Midnight Thicket.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Midnight Thicket, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Midnight Thicket.
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 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 Midnight Thicket:
- Websites specific to Delaware
- Pages specific to Sussex County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Kent County
- Caroline County
- Dorchester County
- Somerset County
- Talbot County
- Wicomico County
- Worcester County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Delaware
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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Midnight Thicket) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Midnight Thicket, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |