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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 Williams Heights (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 Williams Heights. 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 Williams Heights ...

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 Williams Heights: Williams Hts. (in Canada, 'Hgts.' is the more common abbreviation.)
  • While the name of this community is Williams Heights, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Williams Heights may originally have been William's Heights.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Williams Heights might be written as William Heights.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Williams Heights. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Williams Heights.

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 hospitals and 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.

Williams Heights is located in Caroline 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 Caroline County: Kent (DE), Sussex (DE), Dorchester, Queen Anne's & Talbot.

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

  • Caroline County     (The home county of Williams Heights)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Williams Heights, with the one closest to Williams Heights listed first.
    • Tuckahoe Springs
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Tuckahoe Springs is located in Caroline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckahoe Springs
    • Denton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Griffin
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Griffin is located in Caroline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
    • Oil City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Oil City is located in Caroline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
    • Grove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Grove is located in Caroline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove
    • Hickman
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Hickman is located in Caroline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
    • Hillsboro
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Hillsboro is located in Caroline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
    • Thomas Town
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Thomas Town is located in Caroline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Town
    • Bethlehem
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Bethlehem is located in Caroline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
    • Ridgely
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Ridgely is located in Caroline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgely
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,655 people
    • Hynson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Hynson is located in Caroline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hynson
    • Preston
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Dorchester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Williams Heights, with the one closest to Williams Heights listed first.
    • Williamsburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Williamsburg is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
    • Waddells Corner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Waddells Corner is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waddells Corner
    • Hurlock
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Finchville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Finchville is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finchville
    • Marshyhope Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Marshyhope Village is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshyhope Village
    • Reliance
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Reliance is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reliance
    • East New Market
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Secretary
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Brookview
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Brookview is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
    • Eldorado
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Eldorado is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
    • Rhodesdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Galestown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Galestown is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galestown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Williams Heights, with the one closest to Williams Heights listed first.
    • Cliffs City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Cliffs City is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffs City
    • Old Town
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Old Town is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
    • Pomona
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Pomona is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
    • Mile Tree Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Mile Tree Village is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mile Tree Village
    • Millington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Chestertown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Edesville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Edesville is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edesville
    • Morganec Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Morganec Village is located in Kent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morganec Village
    • Rock Hall
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Queen Anne's County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Williams Heights, with the one closest to Williams Heights listed first.
    • Queen Anne
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Willoughby
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Willoughby is located in Queen Anne's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willoughby
    • Ruthsburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Ruthsburg is located in Queen Anne's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthsburg
    • Roe
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Roe is located in Queen Anne's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roe
    • Bloomingdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Bloomingdale is located in Queen Anne's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
    • Ingleside
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Ingleside is located in Queen Anne's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
    • Centreville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Guys
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Guys is located in Queen Anne's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guys
    • Price
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Price is located in Queen Anne's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price
    • Queenstown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Queenstown is located in Queen Anne's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queenstown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 701 people
    • Roberts
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Roberts is located in Queen Anne's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts
    • Barclay
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Barclay is located in Queen Anne's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclay
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
  • Talbot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Williams Heights, with the one closest to Williams Heights listed first.
    • Tappers Corner
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Tappers Corner is located in Talbot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tappers Corner
    • Cordova
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Woodland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Woodland is located in Talbot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
    • Skipton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Skipton is located in Talbot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skipton
    • Talbot Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Talbot Village is located in Talbot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talbot Village
    • Easton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Wye Mills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Trappe
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Kirkham
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Kirkham is located in Talbot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkham
    • Tunis Mills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Tunis Mills is located in Talbot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunis Mills
    • Leeds Landing
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Leeds Landing is located in Talbot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds Landing
    • Newcomb
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Newcomb is located in Talbot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newcomb
  • Wicomico County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Williams Heights, with the one closest to Williams Heights listed first.
    • Sharptown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Sharptown is located in Wicomico County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharptown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 664 people
    • Mardela Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Mardela Springs is located in Wicomico County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mardela Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 351 people
    • Hebron
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Delmar
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Kent County (DE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Williams Heights, with the one closest to Williams Heights listed first.
    • Hickman
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Hickman is located in Kent County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
    • Adamsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Adamsville is located in Kent County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
    • Brownsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Brownsville is located in Kent County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
    • Andrewsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Andrewsville is located in Kent County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrewsville
    • Vernon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Vernon is located in Kent County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
    • Whiteleysburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Whiteleysburg is located in Kent County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteleysburg
    • Farmington
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Sandtown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Sandtown is located in Kent County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandtown
    • Harrington
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Houston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Williamsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Williamsville is located in Kent County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsville
    • Felton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Felton is located in Kent County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,432 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Felton <2>
  • Sussex County (DE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Williams Heights, with the one closest to Williams Heights listed first.
    • Scotts Corner
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Scotts Corner is located in Sussex County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Corner
    • Greenwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Briar Hook
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Briar Hook is located in Sussex County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briar Hook
    • Bridgeville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Reliance
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Reliance is located in Sussex County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reliance
    • Heritage Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Heritage Village is located in Sussex County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Village
    • Ross
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Ross is located in Sussex County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
    • Seaford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Seaford is located in Sussex County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seaford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,246 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seaford <2>
    • Banning ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Banning is located in Sussex County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
    • Blades
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Blades is located in Sussex County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blades
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,498 people
    • Bethel
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Bethel is located in Sussex County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bethel <2>
    • Lincoln Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Lincoln Village is located in Sussex County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Village

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

Cemeteries Near Williams Heights ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Williams Heights.

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 Williams Heights - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Williams Heights, with the one closest to Williams Heights listed first.

  • Todds Chapel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Concord Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Bell Chapel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Union Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Ames Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Spring Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Old St. Lukes Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • St. Elizabeths Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Denton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Kings Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (217 more) ...
    • Smithson Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Friendship Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Chestnut Grove Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)

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 Williams Heights in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Williams Heights.

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

  • Williston
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Williston is located in Caroline County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williston
  • Concord
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Concord is located in Caroline County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
  • Andersontown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Andersontown is located in Caroline County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andersontown
  • Denton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Griffin
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Griffin is located in Caroline County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
  • American Corner
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • American Corner is located in Caroline County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for American Corner
  • Hobbs
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Hobbs is located in Caroline County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobbs
  • Anthony
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Anthony is located in Caroline County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anthony
  • Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Grove is located in Caroline County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove
  • Matthews
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Matthews is located in Talbot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matthews
  • Agner
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Agner is located in Caroline County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agner
  • Bethlehem
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Bethlehem is located in Caroline County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Nichols
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Nichols is located in Caroline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichols
    • Smithville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Smithville is located in Caroline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithville
    • Hickman
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Hickman is located in Kent County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman

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

Newspapers Published in Williams Heights ...

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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Williams Heights.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Williams Heights, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Williams Heights.

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 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 Williams Heights:

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>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 Williams Heights, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Williams Heights) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.