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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 Riverdale (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 Riverdale. 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 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.

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

  • Sussex County     (The home county of Riverdale)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
    • Sea Farers Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Sea Farers Village is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sea Farers Village
    • Trinity
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Trinity is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity
    • Long Neck
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Winding Creek Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Blackwater Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Blackwater Village is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwater Village
    • Boyers Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Boyers Village is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyers Village
    • Clarksville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Clarksville is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
    • Omar
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Omar is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omar
    • Dagsboro
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Hollymount
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Hollymount is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollymount
    • Massey Landing
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Massey Landing is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massey Landing
    • Frankford
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
    • Milford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Williamsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Williamsville is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsville
    • Woods Haven
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Woods Haven is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Haven
    • Church Hill Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Church Hill Village is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Church Hill Village
    • Farmington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Houston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Andrewsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Andrewsville is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrewsville
    • Harrington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Dorchester County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
    • Galestown
      (28 miles [45.1 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
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Reliance is located in Dorchester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reliance
  • Wicomico County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
    • New Hope
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • New Hope is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
    • Willards
      (16 miles [25.7 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
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Parsonsburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Powellville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Powellville is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellville
    • Delmar
      (22 miles [35.4 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 <1>
    • Whiton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Whiton is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
    • White Plains
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • White Plains is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
    • Cedar Hurst Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Cedar Hurst Village is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hurst Village
    • Salisbury
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 <1>
    • Dogwood Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Dogwood Village is located in Wicomico County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood Village
    • Sharptown
      (28 miles [45.1 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
  • Worcester County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
    • Bishopville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Bishop
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Bishop is located in Worcester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
    • Ocean Pines
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Showell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Showell is located in Worcester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Showell
    • Ocean Bay City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Ocean Bay City is located in Worcester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean Bay City
    • Whaleyville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • North Ocean City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • North Ocean City is located in Worcester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ocean City
    • Berlin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • 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 City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • West Ocean City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • West Ocean City is located in Worcester County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Ocean City
    • Newark
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Cedartown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • 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 Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
    • Cape May
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Cold Spring is located in Cape May County (NJ)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Spring
    • North Cape May
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • North Cape May is located in Cape May County (NJ)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cape May
    • Erma
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Erma is located in Cape May County (NJ)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erma

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

Cemeteries Near Riverdale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Riverdale.

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 Riverdale - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Friendship Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Millsboro Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Redman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
  • St. Georges Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Baker Family Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Harmony Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Marvel Family Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Indian Mission Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Banks Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • New St. Johns Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Millsboro Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millsboro Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Millsboro Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Millsboro.
    • The Millsboro Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Brotherhood Cemetery
    • Mechanics Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1535377 <2>
  • Order United American Men Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (132 more) ...
    • St. Georges Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Long Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Carey Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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.<4>

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

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

  • Trinity
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Trinity is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity
  • Warwick
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Warwick is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwick
  • Dagsboro
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Omar
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Omar is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omar
  • Frankford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Millville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Millsboro
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Roxana
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Roxana is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxana
  • Ocean View
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Hollyville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hollyville is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollyville
  • Bayard
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Bayard is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayard
  • Stockley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Stockley is located in Sussex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockley
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Mission
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Mission is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission
    • Selbyville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Bunting
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Bunting is located in Sussex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunting

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

Newspapers Published in Riverdale ...

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 2 newspapers that have been published in the area around Riverdale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Riverdale, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Riverdale.

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 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 Riverdale:

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 'straight-line' (or 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- Riverdale) 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 Riverdale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.