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 West 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 West 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 West 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 West Beach: W. Beach
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Beach. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West 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.
West 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 West Beach. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Beach:
- Calvert County (The home county of West Beach)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Beach, with the one closest to West Beach listed first.
- North Beach
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Chesapeake Beach
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Summer City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Summer City is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer City
- Owings
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sunderland
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Willows
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Willows is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willows
- Owings Town Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Owings Town Center is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owings Town Center
- Chaney
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Chaney is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaney
- Huntingtown Town Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Huntingtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Apple Greene
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Apple Greene is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Greene
- Dunkirk Town Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Dunkirk Town Center is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkirk Town Center
- Anne Arundel County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Beach, with the one closest to West Beach listed first.
- Fairhaven
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Fairhaven is located in Anne Arundel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
- Friendship
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Deale
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Baywalker Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Baywalker Village is located in Anne Arundel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywalker Village
- Jewell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jewell is located in Anne Arundel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
- Tracys Landing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Churchton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Greenock
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Greenock is located in Anne Arundel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenock
- Pindell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Pindell is located in Anne Arundel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pindell
- Galesville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Idlewilde
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Idlewilde is located in Anne Arundel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idlewilde
- Lothian
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Caroline County
- Tanyard
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Tanyard is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanyard
- Charles County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Beach, with the one closest to West Beach listed first.
- Benedict
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Malcolm
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Malcolm is located in Charles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malcolm
- Hughesville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mattawoman
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Mattawoman is located in Charles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattawoman
- Bryantown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Independence Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Independence Village is located in Charles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence Village
- White Oak Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- White Oak Village is located in Charles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak Village
- Acton Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Acton Village is located in Charles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton Village
- Huntington Townhouses
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Waldorf
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Saint Charles
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Saint Charles is located in Charles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Charles
- Westlake Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Westlake Village is located in Charles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake Village
- Dorchester County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Beach, with the one closest to West Beach listed first.
- James
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- James is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James
- Thomas
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Thomas is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
- Hills Point
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Hills Point is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills Point
- Lloyds
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Lloyds is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloyds
- Taylors Island
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Madison
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Madison is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
- Woolford
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Woolford is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woolford
- Algonquin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Algonquin is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algonquin
- Church Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Patamoke Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Patamoke Village is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patamoke Village
- Cambridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Golden Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Golden Hill is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Hill
- Prince George's County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Beach, with the one closest to West Beach listed first.
- Cedarhaven
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cedarhaven is located in Prince George's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarhaven
- Westwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Westwood is located in Prince George's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Aquasco
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Aquasco is located in Prince George's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquasco
- Eagle Harbor
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Eagle Harbor is located in Prince George's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Harbor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
- North Keys
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- North Keys is located in Prince George's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Keys
- Orme
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Orme is located in Prince George's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orme
- Croom
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Croom is located in Prince George's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croom
- Horsehead
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Horsehead is located in Prince George's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horsehead
- Upper Marlboro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cedarville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Cedarville is located in Prince George's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Marlton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Marlton is located in Prince George's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlton
- Rosaryville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Rosaryville is located in Prince George's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosaryville
- Queen Anne's County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Beach, with the one closest to West Beach listed first.
- Mattapex
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mattapex is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattapex
- Bay City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bay City is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay City
- Stevensville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cheslou Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Cheslou Village is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheslou Village
- Chester
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Kent Narrows
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Kent Narrows is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent Narrows
- Grasonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Guys
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Guys is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guys
- Queenstown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Queenstown is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queenstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 701 people
- Bloomingdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bloomingdale is located in Queen Anne's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
- Saint Mary's County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Beach, with the one closest to West Beach listed first.
- Golden Beach
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Golden Beach is located in Saint Mary's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Beach
- Charlotte Hall
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mechanicsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Summerseat Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Summerseat Village is located in Saint Mary's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerseat Village
- Sotterley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Sotterley is located in Saint Mary's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sotterley
- Morganza
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Morganza is located in Saint Mary's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morganza
- Helen
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Helen is located in Saint Mary's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen
- Hollywood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Hollywood is located in Saint Mary's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
- Loveville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Loveville is located in Saint Mary's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveville
- Budds Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Budds Creek is located in Saint Mary's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Budds Creek
- Chaptico
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- California
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Talbot County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Beach, with the one closest to West Beach listed first.
- Tilghman Island
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Tilghman Island is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilghman Island
- Tilghman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Tilghman is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilghman
- Sherwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Neavitt
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Neavitt is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neavitt
- Wittman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bozman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Claiborne
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- McDaniel
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Michaels
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Harper ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Harper is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Tunis
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tunis is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunis
- Riverside
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Riverside is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Alexandria City (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Beach, with the one closest to West Beach listed first.
- Alexandria
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Arlandria
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Arlandria is located in Alexandria City (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlandria
- Chinquapin Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Chinquapin Village is located in Alexandria City (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinquapin Village
- Warwick Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Warwick Village is located in Alexandria City (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwick Village
- Fairfax County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Beach, with the one closest to West Beach listed first.
- Fort Hunt
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Fort Hunt is located in Fairfax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Hunt
- Belle Haven
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Belle Haven is located in Fairfax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Haven
- Huntington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Huntington is located in Fairfax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
- Hybla Valley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Hybla Valley is located in Fairfax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hybla Valley
- Burgundy Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Burgundy Village is located in Fairfax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burgundy Village
- Groveton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Groveton is located in Fairfax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groveton
- Mount Vernon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Penn Daw Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Penn Daw Village is located in Fairfax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn Daw Village
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Beach, see our County-by-County Page for West Beach.
Cemeteries Near West Beach ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West 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 West Beach - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Beach covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Beach, with the one closest to West Beach listed first.
- Mt. Harmony UMC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- All Saints Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Carter's UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Friendship UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Knopp Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- St. Marks Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Evans Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Sherberts Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Richardson - Norman Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Southern Memorial Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Fowler - Tanyhill Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Coopers UMC Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (311 more) ...
- Doctor Robert Franklin Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doctor Robert Franklin Cemetery
- The Doctor Robert Franklin Cemetery has also been known as:
- Deale Beach Road Cemetery
- Franklin Cemetery
- Robert Franklin Cemetery
- Thompson Family Cemetery
- Jump to the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties: MIHP ID #AA-315 <3>
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #80972 <2>
- Hampton Plantation
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Miranda Memorial Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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 West Beach in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Beach.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Beach, with the one closest to West Beach listed first.
- Sunderland
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fairhaven
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Fairhaven is located in Anne Arundel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
- Mount Harmony
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Mount Harmony is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Harmony
- Willows
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Willows is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willows
- Friendship
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Plum Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Plum Point is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Point
- Chaneyville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Chaneyville is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaneyville
- Huntingtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Parran
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Parran is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parran
- Nutwell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Nutwell is located in Anne Arundel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutwell
- Tracys Landing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Churchton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- McKendree
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- McKendree is located in Anne Arundel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
- Dunkirk
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Lower Marlboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lower Marlboro is located in Calvert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Marlboro
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Beach. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Beach.
Newspapers Published in West 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 2 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Beach.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Beach, there are papers which were published within Less than 2 miles<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Beach.
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 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 West Beach:
- Websites specific to Maryland
- Pages specific to Calvert County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Anne Arundel County
- Caroline County
- Charles County
- Dorchester County
- Prince George's County
- Queen Anne's County
- Saint Mary's County
- Talbot County
- Alexandria City
- Fairfax 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> | The Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MIHP (for the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties). More information about the MHT and MIHP can be found on their website: mht.maryland.gov. |
| <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 West Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- West Beach) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |