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 Somerset (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 Somerset. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Somerset 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 Somerset. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Somerset:
- Worcester County (The home county of Somerset)
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Ocean Pines
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Showell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Showell is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Showell
- Bishop
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bishop is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Bishopville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- North Ocean City
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- North Ocean City is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ocean City
- Ocean Bay City
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Ocean Bay City is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean Bay City
- Ocean City
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- West Ocean City
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- West Ocean City is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Ocean City
- Berlin
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Whaleyville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Newark
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cedartown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cedartown is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedartown
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Eden
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Eden is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Loretto
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Loretto is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loretto
- West Pocomoke
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Pocomoke is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pocomoke
- Wicomico County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- New Hope
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- New Hope is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Willards
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Powellville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Powellville is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellville
- Whiton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Whiton is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
- Pittsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Parsonsburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- White Plains
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- White Plains is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Delmar
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Salisbury
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Dogwood Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Dogwood Village is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood Village
- Cedar Hurst Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Cedar Hurst Village is located in Wicomico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hurst Village
- Fruitland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Sussex County (DE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Bunting
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bunting is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunting
- Williamsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Williamsville is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsville
- Selbyville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Bayville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bayville is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayville
- Bayard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Bayard is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayard
- Roxana
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Roxana is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxana
- Fenwick Island
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Omar
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Omar is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omar
- Frankford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Boyers Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Boyers Village is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyers Village
- Clarksville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Clarksville is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
- Millville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Accomack County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Franklin City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Franklin City is located in Accomack County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin City
- Greenbackville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Somerset, see our County-by-County Page for Somerset.
Cemeteries Near Somerset ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Somerset.
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 Somerset - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Somerset covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- St. Martins Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Old St. Martins Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Sunset Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bishopville Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Golden Acres Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Bethany Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Red Men Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Buckingham Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Tyree Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (128 more) ...
- Wilgus Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Daisey Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisey Cemetery
- The Daisey Cemetery has also been known as:
- Rickards / Daisey Cemetery
- Wilgus Road Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2589210 <2>
- Pulletts Chapel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
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 Somerset in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Somerset.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Friendship
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Friendship is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Showell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Showell is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Showell
- Bishopville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bishop
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bishop is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Holly Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Holly Grove is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Grove
- Williamsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Williamsville is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsville
- Bunting
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bunting is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunting
- Campbell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Campbell is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- Berlin
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Ocean City
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Selbyville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Bayville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bayville is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayville
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Roxana
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Roxana is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxana
- Bayard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Bayard is located in Sussex County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayard
- Ironshire
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Ironshire is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironshire
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Somerset. See our List of 1890's Communities around Somerset.
Newspapers Published in Somerset ...
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 3 newspapers that have been published in the area around Somerset.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Somerset, there are papers which were published within 5 miles [8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Somerset.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Somerset:
- 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 Somerset, 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 from Point A (ie- Somerset) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |