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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 Driftwood Beach (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 Driftwood Beach. 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 Driftwood Beach ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Driftwood Beach: Driftwood Bch.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.

Driftwood Beach is located in Calvert 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 Calvert County: Anne Arundel, Charles, Dorchester, Prince George's, Saint Mary's & Talbot.

Below are the counties that are near Driftwood Beach. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Driftwood Beach:

  • Calvert County     (The home county of Driftwood Beach)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood Beach, with the one closest to Driftwood Beach listed first.
    • Brianwood
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Brianwood is located in Calvert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brianwood
    • Chesapeake Ranch Estates - Drum Point
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Cove Point
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Cove Point is located in Calvert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Point
    • Drum Point
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Drum Point is located in Calvert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drum Point
    • Olivet
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Olivet is located in Calvert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
    • Solomons
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Coster
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Coster is located in Calvert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coster
    • Cove View
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Cove View is located in Calvert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove View
    • Dowell
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Lusby
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mackall
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Mackall is located in Calvert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackall
    • Wallville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Wallville is located in Calvert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallville
  • Anne Arundel County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood Beach, with the one closest to Driftwood Beach listed first.
    • Fairhaven
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Fairhaven is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
    • Friendship
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Baywalker Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Baywalker Village is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywalker Village
    • Deale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Jewell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jewell is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
  • Charles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood Beach, with the one closest to Driftwood Beach listed first.
    • Benedict
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Hughesville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Independence Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Independence Village is located in Charles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence Village
    • Cobb Island
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Rock Point
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Rock Point is located in Charles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Point
    • Mount Victoria
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Mount Victoria is located in Charles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Victoria
    • Bryantown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Malcolm
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Malcolm is located in Charles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malcolm
    • Morgantown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Morgantown is located in Charles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgantown
    • Newburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Dorchester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood Beach, with the one closest to Driftwood Beach listed first.
    • Fishing Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Golden Hill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Golden Hill is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Hill
    • Taylors Island
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lakesville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Lakesville is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakesville
    • Crapo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Crapo is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crapo
    • Madison
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Madison is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
    • Andrews
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Andrews is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrews
    • Woolford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Woolford is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woolford
    • Church Creek
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Thomas
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Thomas is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
    • Wingate
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • James
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • James is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James
  • Prince George's County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood Beach, with the one closest to Driftwood Beach listed first.
    • Cedarhaven
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Cedarhaven is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarhaven
    • Eagle Harbor
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Eagle Harbor is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Harbor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
    • Aquasco
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Aquasco is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquasco
    • Horsehead
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Horsehead is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horsehead
    • Orme
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Orme is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orme
    • Westwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Westwood is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
    • Cedarville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Cedarville is located in Prince George's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
  • Saint Mary's County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood Beach, with the one closest to Driftwood Beach listed first.
    • California
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lexington Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • North Town Creek Manor
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • North Town Creek Manor is located in Saint Mary's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Town Creek Manor
    • Sotterley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Sotterley is located in Saint Mary's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sotterley
    • Great Mills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Hollywood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Hollywood is located in Saint Mary's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
    • Callaway
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Marys City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Drayden
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Valley Lee
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Valley Lee is located in Saint Mary's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Lee
    • Dameron
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Dameron is located in Saint Mary's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dameron
    • Leonardtown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Somerset County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood Beach, with the one closest to Driftwood Beach listed first.
    • Chance
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Deal Island
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Wenona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Wenona is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wenona
    • Dames Quarter
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Talbot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood Beach, with the one closest to Driftwood Beach listed first.
    • Tilghman Island
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Tilghman Island is located in Talbot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilghman Island
    • Tilghman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Tilghman is located in Talbot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilghman
    • Neavitt
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Neavitt is located in Talbot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neavitt
    • Oxford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Sherwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Trappe
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bozman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Royal Oak
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Riverside
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Riverside is located in Talbot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
    • Newcomb
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Newcomb is located in Talbot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newcomb
  • Wicomico County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood Beach, with the one closest to Driftwood Beach listed first.
    • Bivalve
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Jesterville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Jesterville is located in Wicomico County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jesterville
    • Nanticoke
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Nanticoke is located in Wicomico County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nanticoke
    • Tyaskin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Northumberland County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood Beach, with the one closest to Driftwood Beach listed first.
    • Lodge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Lodge is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodge
    • Morrisons Corner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Morrisons Corner is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisons Corner
    • Bundick
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Bundick is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bundick
    • Coan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Coan is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coan
    • Heathsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Richmond County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood Beach, with the one closest to Driftwood Beach listed first.
    • Rich Neck
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Rich Neck is located in Richmond County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Neck
    • Tallent Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Tallent Town is located in Richmond County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallent Town
  • Westmoreland County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood Beach, with the one closest to Driftwood Beach listed first.
    • Tucker Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Tucker Hill is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Hill
    • Hinnom
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Hinnom is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinnom
    • Kinsale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Machodoc
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Machodoc is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Machodoc
    • Griffiths Corner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Griffiths Corner is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffiths Corner
    • Bryant Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Bryant Town is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant Town
    • Chiltons
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Chiltons is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chiltons
    • Nomini Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Nomini Grove is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nomini Grove
    • Baynesville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Baynesville is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baynesville
    • Montross
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Montross is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montross
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 392 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Montross <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Driftwood Beach ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Driftwood Beach.

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 Driftwood Beach - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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.<3>

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

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

  • Drum Point
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Drum Point is located in Calvert County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drum Point
  • Cove Point
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Cove Point is located in Calvert County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Point
  • Solomons
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Lusby
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Sollers
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Sollers is located in Calvert County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sollers
  • California
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Mackall
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mackall is located in Calvert County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackall
  • Wallville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Wallville is located in Calvert County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallville
  • Saint Leonard
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Sotterley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Sotterley is located in Saint Mary's County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sotterley
  • Great Mills
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Fishing Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Golden Hill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Golden Hill is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Hill
    • Taylors Island
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Broomes Island
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Driftwood Beach ...

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 7 newspapers that have been published in the area around Driftwood Beach.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Driftwood Beach, 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 Driftwood Beach.

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 helpful 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 Driftwood Beach:

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>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 Driftwood Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Driftwood Beach) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.