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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 Elms 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 Elms 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 Elms 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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Elms Beach: Elms Bch.
  • While the name of this community is Elms Beach, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Elms Beach may originally have been Elm's Beach.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Elms Beach might be written as Elm Beach.

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 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.

Elms Beach is located in Saint Mary's 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 Saint Mary's County: Calvert & Charles.

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

  • Saint Mary's County     (The home county of Elms Beach)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elms Beach, with the one closest to Elms Beach listed first.
    • Dameron
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Dameron is located in Saint Mary's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dameron
    • Saint Marys City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Gum Landing
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Gum Landing is located in Saint Mary's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Landing
    • Ridge
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Drayden
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Great Mills
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Lexington Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Scotland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Piney Point
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Valley Lee
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Valley Lee is located in Saint Mary's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Lee
    • Callaway
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • California
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • North Town Creek Manor
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • North Town Creek Manor is located in Saint Mary's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Town Creek Manor
  • Calvert County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elms Beach, with the one closest to Elms Beach listed first.
    • Drum Point
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Drum Point is located in Calvert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drum Point
    • Solomons
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Chesapeake Ranch Estates - Drum Point
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Dowell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Olivet
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Olivet is located in Calvert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
    • Brianwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Brianwood is located in Calvert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brianwood
    • Coster
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Coster is located in Calvert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coster
    • Cove Point
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Cove Point is located in Calvert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Point
    • Cove View
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Cove View is located in Calvert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove View
    • Lusby
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Mackall
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Mackall is located in Calvert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackall
    • Wallville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Wallville is located in Calvert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallville
    • Broomes Island
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Charles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elms Beach, with the one closest to Elms Beach listed first.
    • Cobb Island
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Rock Point
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Rock Point is located in Charles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Point
    • Benedict
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Victoria
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Mount Victoria is located in Charles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Victoria
  • Dorchester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elms Beach, with the one closest to Elms Beach listed first.
    • Fishing Creek
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Crapo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Crapo is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crapo
    • Lakesville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Lakesville is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakesville
    • Bishops Head
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Bishops Head is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishops Head
    • Golden Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Golden Hill is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Hill
    • Wingate
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Crocheron
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Crocheron is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crocheron
    • Andrews
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Andrews is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrews
    • Toddville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Toddville is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toddville
    • Taylors Island
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Elliott
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Elliott is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
    • Madison
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Madison is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
    • Woolford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Woolford is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woolford
  • Somerset County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elms Beach, with the one closest to Elms Beach listed first.
    • Chance
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Deal Island
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Wenona
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Wenona is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wenona
    • Ewell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Rhodes Point
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Rhodes Point is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes Point
    • Smith Island
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Smith Island is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Island
    • Tylerton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Dames Quarter
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Frenchtown - Rumbly
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Frenchtown - Rumbly is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchtown - Rumbly
    • Monie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Monie is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monie
    • Mount Vernon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Mount Vernon is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
    • Champ
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Champ is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champ
    • Fairmount
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Fairmount is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
  • Wicomico County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elms Beach, with the one closest to Elms Beach listed first.
    • Nanticoke
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Nanticoke is located in Wicomico County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nanticoke
    • Bivalve
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Jesterville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Jesterville is located in Wicomico County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jesterville
    • Tyaskin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Capitola
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Capitola is located in Wicomico County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitola
  • Lancaster County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elms Beach, with the one closest to Elms Beach listed first.
    • Alfonso
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Alfonso is located in Lancaster County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfonso
    • Lankford Corner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Lankford Corner is located in Lancaster County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lankford Corner
    • Richtown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Richtown is located in Lancaster County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richtown
  • Northumberland County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elms Beach, with the one closest to Elms Beach listed first.
    • Lodge
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lodge is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodge
    • Coan
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Coan is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coan
    • Bundick
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Bundick is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bundick
    • Morrisons Corner
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Morrisons Corner is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisons Corner
    • Heathsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Ophelia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Sunnybank
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Sunnybank is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnybank
    • Rainswood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Rainswood is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainswood
    • Blackwells
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Blackwells is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwells
    • Lara
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Lara is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lara
    • Reedville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Remo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Remo is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Remo
    • Fleeton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Fleeton is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleeton
  • Richmond County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elms Beach, with the one closest to Elms Beach listed first.
    • Rich Neck
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Rich Neck is located in Richmond County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Neck
    • Farnham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Farnham is located in Richmond County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farnham
    • Tallent Town
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Tallent Town is located in Richmond County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallent Town
    • Emmerton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Emmerton is located in Richmond County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmerton
    • Warsaw
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Warsaw is located in Richmond County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warsaw
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,490 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warsaw <2>
    • Downings
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Downings is located in Richmond County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downings
    • Simons Corner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Simons Corner is located in Richmond County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simons Corner
    • Newland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Newland is located in Richmond County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newland
    • Naylors
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Naylors is located in Richmond County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naylors
    • Simonson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Simonson is located in Richmond County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simonson
  • Westmoreland County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elms Beach, with the one closest to Elms Beach listed first.
    • Tucker Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Tucker Hill is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Hill
    • Kinsale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Griffiths Corner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Griffiths Corner is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffiths Corner
    • Machodoc
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Machodoc is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Machodoc
    • Hinnom
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Hinnom is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinnom
    • Nomini Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Nomini Grove is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nomini Grove
    • Bryant Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Bryant Town is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant Town
    • Chiltons
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Chiltons is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chiltons
    • Montross
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • 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 <2>
    • Baynesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Baynesville is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baynesville

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

Cemeteries Near Elms Beach ...

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Elms Beach, with the one closest to Elms 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.<4>

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

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

  • Saint Marys City
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Ridge
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Scotland
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Great Mills
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Piney Point
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Valley Lee
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Valley Lee is located in Saint Mary's County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Lee
  • Drum Point
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Drum Point is located in Calvert County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drum Point
  • Solomons
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • California
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Hoopersville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hoopersville is located in Dorchester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoopersville
  • Fishing Creek
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Cove Point
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Cove Point is located in Calvert County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Point
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Lewisetta
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Lewisetta is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisetta
    • Coles Point
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Tucker Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Tucker Hill is located in Westmoreland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Hill

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

Newspapers Published in Elms 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 Elms Beach.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Elms Beach, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Elms Beach.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Elms Beach:

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>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 Elms Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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 from Point A (ie- Elms Beach) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.