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 Goodwill (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 Goodwill. 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 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.
Goodwill is located in Worcester 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 Worcester County: Sussex (DE), Somerset, Wicomico & Accomack (VA).
Below are the counties that are near Goodwill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Goodwill:
- Worcester County (The home county of Goodwill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Goodwill, with the one closest to Goodwill listed first.
- Pocomoke City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Pocomoke City is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocomoke City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,095 people
- Former names for Pocomoke City:
- New Town
- Stevens Landing
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pocomoke City <1>
- Stockton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Girdletree
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Girdletree is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girdletree
- Snow Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cedartown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cedartown is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedartown
- Newark
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Berlin
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Whaleyville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Showell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Showell is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Showell
- West Ocean City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- West Ocean City is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Ocean City
- Bishop
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bishop is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Ocean City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Goodwill, with the one closest to Goodwill listed first.
- West Pocomoke
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- West Pocomoke is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pocomoke
- Costen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Costen is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Costen
- Rehobeth
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Kingston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Kingston is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Westover
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Princess Anne
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Manokin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Manokin is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manokin
- Tulls Corner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Tulls Corner is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulls Corner
- Annemessix Towne ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Annemessix Towne is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annemessix Towne
- Eden
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Eden is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Loretto
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Loretto is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loretto
- Somersett Town ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Somersett Town is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somersett Town
- Wicomico County
- The following are listed by their distance from Goodwill, with the one closest to Goodwill listed first.
- Whiton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Whiton is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
- Powellville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Powellville is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellville
- Allen
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Allen is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
- Fruitland
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Dogwood Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Dogwood Village is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood Village
- Salisbury
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- White Plains
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- White Plains is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Twiggs Corner
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Twiggs Corner is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twiggs Corner
- Parsonsburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Green Hill Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Green Hill Village is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill Village
- Capitola
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Capitola is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitola
- Centennial Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Centennial Village is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centennial Village
- Sussex County (DE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Goodwill, with the one closest to Goodwill listed first.
- Delmar
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Ward
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Ward is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward
- Selbyville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Accomack County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Goodwill, with the one closest to Goodwill listed first.
- Sign Post
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Sign Post is located in Accomack County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sign Post
- Greenbackville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sinnickson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sinnickson is located in Accomack County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinnickson
- Franklin City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin City is located in Accomack County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin City
- Wattsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Wattsville is located in Accomack County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Withams
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Withams is located in Accomack County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Withams
- Atlantic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Chincoteague
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chincoteague is located in Accomack County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chincoteague
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,866 people
- Temperanceville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Birch Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Birch Town is located in Accomack County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birch Town
- Hallwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Hallwood is located in Accomack County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Groton Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Groton Town is located in Accomack County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groton Town
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Goodwill, see our County-by-County Page for Goodwill.
Cemeteries Near Goodwill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Goodwill.
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 Goodwill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Goodwill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Goodwill, with the one closest to Goodwill listed first.
- Goodwill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Hancock Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Union Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- St. Marks Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- St. Lukes Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Old Shiloh Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Remson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Betheden Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Betheden Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Sinai Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (126 more) ...
- Wesley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Church Street Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Gunby Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Goodwill had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Goodwill, with the one closest to Goodwill listed first.
- Pocomoke City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Pocomoke City is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocomoke City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,095 people
- Former names for Pocomoke City:
- New Town
- Stevens Landing
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pocomoke City <1>
- Welbourne
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Welbourne is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welbourne
- Stockton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Girdletree
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Girdletree is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girdletree
- Corbin
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Corbin is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corbin
- New Church
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Sinnickson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sinnickson is located in Accomack County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinnickson
- Greenbackville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Scarboro
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Scarboro is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scarboro
- Costen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Costen is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Costen
- Horntown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Franklin City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin City is located in Accomack County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin City
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Whiteburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Whiteburg is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteburg
- Boxiron
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Boxiron is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boxiron
- Rehobeth
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Goodwill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Goodwill.
Newspapers Published in Goodwill ...
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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Goodwill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Goodwill, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Goodwill.
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 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 Goodwill:
- Websites specific to Maryland
- Pages specific to Worcester County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Somerset County
- Wicomico County
- Sussex County
- Accomack 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> | 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 Goodwill, 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' (or 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- Goodwill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |