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 Choptank (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 Choptank. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
Choptank is located in Caroline County.
To see how the shape of Maryland's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Caroline County: Kent (DE), Sussex (DE), Dorchester, Queen Anne's & Talbot.
Below are the counties that are near Choptank. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Choptank:
- Caroline County (The home county of Choptank)
- The following are listed by their distance from Choptank, with the one closest to Choptank listed first.
- Preston
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bethlehem
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bethlehem is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
- Hynson
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Hynson is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hynson
- Tanyard
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Tanyard is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanyard
- Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Grove is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove
- Federalsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Tuckahoe Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Tuckahoe Springs is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckahoe Springs
- Griffin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Griffin is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
- Denton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hillsboro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Hillsboro is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Thomas Town
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Thomas Town is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Town
- Hickman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hickman is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
- Oil City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Oil City is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
- Dorchester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Choptank, with the one closest to Choptank listed first.
- Waddells Corner
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Waddells Corner is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waddells Corner
- East New Market
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Secretary
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Hurlock
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Williamsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Williamsburg is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
- Marshyhope Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Marshyhope Village is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshyhope Village
- Linkwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Linkwood is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linkwood
- Rhodesdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Finchville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Finchville is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finchville
- Eldorado
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Eldorado is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
- Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
- Algonquin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Algonquin is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algonquin
- Cambridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Thompson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Thompson is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
- Queen Anne's County
- The following are listed by their distance from Choptank, with the one closest to Choptank listed first.
- Queen Anne
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Willoughby
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Willoughby is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willoughby
- Guys
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Guys is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guys
- Ruthsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Ruthsburg is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthsburg
- Bloomingdale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bloomingdale is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
- Grasonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Queenstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Queenstown is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queenstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 701 people
- Centreville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Kent Narrows
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Kent Narrows is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent Narrows
- Roe
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Roe is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roe
- Cheslou Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cheslou Village is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheslou Village
- Mattapex
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mattapex is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattapex
- Chester
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Somerset County
- Mount Vernon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Mount Vernon is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Talbot County
- The following are listed by their distance from Choptank, with the one closest to Choptank listed first.
- Trappe
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Easton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Talbot Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Talbot Village is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talbot Village
- Woodland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Woodland is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
- Kirkham
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kirkham is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkham
- Oxford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Cordova
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Newcomb
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Newcomb is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newcomb
- Royal Oak
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Tappers Corner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Tappers Corner is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tappers Corner
- Skipton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Skipton is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skipton
- Leeds Landing
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Leeds Landing is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds Landing
- Riverside
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Riverside is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Wicomico County
- The following are listed by their distance from Choptank, with the one closest to Choptank listed first.
- Sharptown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sharptown is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharptown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 664 people
- Mardela Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Mardela Springs is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mardela Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 351 people
- Hebron
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Quantico
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Rockawalking Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Rockawalking Village is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockawalking Village
- Tyaskin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Cedar Hurst Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Hurst Village is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hurst Village
- Delmar
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bivalve
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Centennial Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Centennial Village is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centennial Village
- Green Hill Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Green Hill Village is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill Village
- Jesterville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Jesterville is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jesterville
- Capitola
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Capitola is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitola
- Kent County (DE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Choptank, with the one closest to Choptank listed first.
- Hickman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hickman is located in Kent County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
- Adamsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Adamsville is located in Kent County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Andrewsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Andrewsville is located in Kent County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrewsville
- Brownsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Brownsville is located in Kent County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Vernon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Vernon is located in Kent County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Whiteleysburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Whiteleysburg is located in Kent County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteleysburg
- Farmington
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Harrington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sandtown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sandtown is located in Kent County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandtown
- Williamsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Williamsville is located in Kent County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsville
- Houston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Church Hill Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Church Hill Village is located in Kent County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Church Hill Village
- Felton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sussex County (DE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Choptank, with the one closest to Choptank listed first.
- Reliance
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Reliance is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reliance
- Briar Hook
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Briar Hook is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briar Hook
- Scotts Corner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Scotts Corner is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Corner
- Heritage Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Heritage Village is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Village
- Ross
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Ross is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
- Seaford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Blades
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Blades is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blades
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,498 people
- Bridgeville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Bethel
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Greenwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Laurel
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Banning ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Banning is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Delmar
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Choptank, see our County-by-County Page for Choptank.
Cemeteries Near Choptank ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Choptank.
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 Choptank - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Choptank covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Choptank, with the one closest to Choptank listed first.
- Belmont Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Windy Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Maryland Veterans Cemetery - Eastern Shore
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Upper Bambury Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Johns Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Preston Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bethesda Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Merrick Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Washington Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Washington Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located between<3> the communities of Hurlock and Waddells Corner. The cemetery lies less than 2 miles<4> to the east of Waddells Corner.
- The Washington Cemetery has also been known as:
- Unity Washington Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #81749 <2>
- Coppins Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wrights Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Continue List (183 more) ...
- Piney Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Paradise Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Smithson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Choptank had a population of 40 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Choptank, with the one closest to Choptank listed first.
- Beulah
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Beulah is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
- Preston
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Linchester
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Linchester is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linchester
- Bethlehem
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bethlehem is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
- Secretary
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- East New Market
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Hurlock
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Hynson
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Hynson is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hynson
- Trappe
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Williamsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Williamsburg is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
- Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Grove is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove
- Hambleton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hambleton is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hambleton
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Ennalls ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ennalls is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennalls
- Nichols
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Nichols is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichols
- Linkwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Linkwood is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linkwood
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Choptank. See our List of 1890's Communities around Choptank.
Newspapers Published in Choptank ...
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 59 newspapers that have been published in the area around Choptank.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Choptank, 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 Choptank.
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 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 Choptank:
- Websites specific to Maryland
- Pages specific to Caroline County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Dorchester County
- Queen Anne's County
- Somerset County
- Talbot County
- Wicomico County
- Kent County
- Sussex County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Maryland
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> | To help visualize the location of the cemetery, we've drawn a straight line between the communities of Hurlock and Waddells Corner. The cemetery can be found near that line and roughly halfway between the two communities. Remember that this is just an approximate location. |
| <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 drawn from Point A (ie- Choptank) 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 Choptank, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |