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 Petersburg (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 Petersburg. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.
Petersburg is located in Dorchester 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 Dorchester County: Sussex (DE), Caroline, Somerset, Talbot & Wicomico.
Below are the counties that are near Petersburg. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Petersburg:
- Dorchester County (The home county of Petersburg)
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Hurlock
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Marshyhope Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Marshyhope Village is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshyhope Village
- Rhodesdale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Eldorado
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Eldorado is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
- Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
- Brookview
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Brookview is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
- East New Market
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Williamsburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Williamsburg is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
- Waddells Corner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Waddells Corner is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waddells Corner
- Secretary
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Finchville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Finchville is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finchville
- Linkwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Linkwood is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linkwood
- Salem
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Salem is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Caroline County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Hynson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Hynson is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hynson
- Preston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Federalsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Grove is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove
- Bethlehem
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bethlehem is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
- Tanyard
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Tanyard is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanyard
- Tuckahoe Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Tuckahoe Springs is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckahoe Springs
- Hickman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hickman is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
- Denton
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Griffin
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Griffin is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
- Oil City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Oil City is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
- Thomas Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Thomas Town is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Town
- Queen Anne's County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Queen Anne
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Willoughby
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Willoughby is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willoughby
- Ruthsburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Ruthsburg is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthsburg
- Guys
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Guys is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guys
- Bloomingdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bloomingdale is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Mount Vernon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Mount Vernon is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Eden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Eden is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Loretto
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Loretto is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loretto
- Dames Quarter
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Monie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Monie is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monie
- Princess Anne
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Oriole
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Oriole is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oriole
- Champ
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Champ is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champ
- Chance
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Talbot County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Trappe
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Easton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Talbot Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Talbot Village is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talbot Village
- Oxford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Woodland
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Woodland is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
- Kirkham
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Kirkham is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkham
- Royal Oak
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cordova
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Tappers Corner
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Tappers Corner is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tappers Corner
- Newcomb
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Newcomb is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newcomb
- Leeds Landing
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Leeds Landing is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds Landing
- Riverside
(22 miles [35.4 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 Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Sharptown
(8 miles [12.9 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
(11 miles [17.7 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
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Quantico
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Rockawalking Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rockawalking Village is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockawalking Village
- Cedar Hurst Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Hurst Village is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hurst Village
- Centennial Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Centennial Village is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centennial Village
- Delmar
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Tyaskin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Bivalve
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Capitola
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Capitola is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitola
- Green Hill Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Green Hill Village is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill Village
- Kent County (DE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Hickman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hickman is located in Kent County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
- Adamsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Adamsville is located in Kent County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Andrewsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Andrewsville is located in Kent County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrewsville
- Vernon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Vernon is located in Kent County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Brownsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Brownsville is located in Kent County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Farmington
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Whiteleysburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Whiteleysburg is located in Kent County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteleysburg
- Harrington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- 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)
- Sandtown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Sandtown is located in Kent County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandtown
- 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
- Sussex County (DE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Reliance
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Reliance is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reliance
- Bethel
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Heritage Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Heritage Village is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Village
- Briar Hook
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Briar Hook is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briar Hook
- Blades
(13 miles [20.9 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
- Ross
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Ross is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
- Seaford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Laurel
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Scotts Corner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Scotts Corner is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Corner
- Bridgeville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Delmar
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Greenwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Petersburg, see our County-by-County Page for Petersburg.
Cemeteries Near Petersburg ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Petersburg.
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 Petersburg - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Petersburg covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- McKendree Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Eldorado Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Washington Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- 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<2> the communities of Hurlock and Waddells Corner. The cemetery lies less than 2 miles<3> 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 <4>
- East New Market Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Reids Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Dukes Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Maryland Veterans Cemetery - Eastern Shore
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Solomon Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Skinners Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Johns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Salem Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (193 more) ...
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Cokesbury Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Preston Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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>
While we didn't find Petersburg in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Petersburg.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Ennalls ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Ennalls is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennalls
- Hurlock
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Rhodesdale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Brookview
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Brookview is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
- Eldorado
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Eldorado is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
- Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
- East New Market
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Williamsburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Williamsburg is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
- Secretary
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Beulah
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Beulah is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
- Finchville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Finchville is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finchville
- Hynson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Hynson is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hynson
- Linkwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Linkwood is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linkwood
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Salem
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Salem is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Walnut Landing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Walnut Landing is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Landing
- Linchester
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Linchester is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linchester
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Petersburg. See our List of 1890's Communities around Petersburg.
Newspapers Published in Petersburg ...
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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Petersburg.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Petersburg, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Petersburg.
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 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 Petersburg:
- Websites specific to Maryland
- Pages specific to Dorchester County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Caroline 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> | 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. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Petersburg) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <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 Petersburg, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |