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 Birch Town (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 Birch Town. 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 and doctors 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.
Birch Town is located in Accomack County.
To see how the shape of Virginia's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Accomack County: Somerset (MD), Lancaster, Middlesex, Northampton & Northumberland.
Below are the counties that are near Birch Town. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Birch Town:
- Accomack County (The home county of Birch Town)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birch Town, with the one closest to Birch Town listed first.
- Chincoteague
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Chincoteague is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chincoteague
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,866 people
- Sinnickson
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Sinnickson is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinnickson
- Franklin City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Franklin City is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin City
- Greenbackville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Sign Post
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sign Post is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sign Post
- Atlantic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wattsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wattsville is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Temperanceville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Mappsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Withams
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Withams is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Withams
- Groton Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Groton Town is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groton Town
- Hallwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Hallwood is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Somerset County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birch Town, with the one closest to Birch Town listed first.
- West Pocomoke
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Pocomoke is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pocomoke
- Rehobeth
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Costen
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Costen is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Costen
- Tulls Corner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Tulls Corner is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulls Corner
- Kingston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Kingston is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Westover
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Annemessix Towne ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Annemessix Towne is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annemessix Towne
- Manokin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Manokin is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manokin
- Lawsonia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Lawsonia is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonia
- Princess Anne
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Crisfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Daugherty Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Daugherty Town is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daugherty Town
- Wicomico County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birch Town, with the one closest to Birch Town listed first.
- Whiton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Whiton is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
- Powellville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Powellville is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellville
- Allen
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Allen is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
- Fruitland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Worcester County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birch Town, with the one closest to Birch Town listed first.
- Stockton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Girdletree
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Girdletree is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girdletree
- Pocomoke City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Pocomoke City is located in Worcester County (MD)
- 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>
- Snow Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Cedartown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Cedartown is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedartown
- Newark
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Berlin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Berlin is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,940 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Berlin <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Birch Town, see our County-by-County Page for Birch Town.
Cemeteries Near Birch Town ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Birch Town.
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 Birch Town - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Birch Town covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Birch Town, with the one closest to Birch Town listed first.
- Mechanics Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Red Mens Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Ridge Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Union Greenbackville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Union Franklin City Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Remson Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Portersville Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Gunby Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Wesley Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Church Street Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Continue List (91 more) ...
- St. Marks Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Sinai Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hancock Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
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 Birch Town in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Birch Town.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Birch Town, with the one closest to Birch Town listed first.
- Sinnickson
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Sinnickson is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinnickson
- Greenbackville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Horntown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Franklin City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Franklin City is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin City
- Atlantic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wattsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wattsville is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Welbourne
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Welbourne is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welbourne
- Temperanceville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Stockton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- New Church
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Horsey
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Horsey is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horsey
- Mappsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Hallwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Hallwood is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Goodwill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Goodwill is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwill
- Girdletree
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Girdletree is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girdletree
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Birch Town. See our List of 1890's Communities around Birch Town.
Newspapers Published in Birch Town ...
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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Birch Town.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Birch Town, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Birch Town.
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 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 Birch Town:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Accomack County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Somerset County
- Wicomico County
- Worcester County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Virginia
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 Birch Town, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Birch Town) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |