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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 Bobtown (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 Bobtown. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Bobtown 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 Bobtown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bobtown:

  • Accomack County     (The home county of Bobtown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bobtown, with the one closest to Bobtown listed first.
    • Melfa
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Crockett Town
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Crockett Town is located in Accomack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crockett Town
    • Keller
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Onancock
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Painter
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Onley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Locust Mount
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Locust Mount is located in Accomack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Mount
    • Locustville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Tasley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Belle Haven
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Cats Bridge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Cats Bridge is located in Accomack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cats Bridge
    • Savage Town
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Savage Town is located in Accomack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage Town
    • Wachapreague
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Lancaster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bobtown, with the one closest to Bobtown listed first.
    • Westland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Westland is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westland
    • Ocran
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Ocran is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocran
  • Mathews County
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bobtown, with the one closest to Bobtown listed first.
    • Stingray Point
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Stingray Point is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stingray Point
    • Sandy Bottom ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Sandy Bottom is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Bottom
  • Northampton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bobtown, with the one closest to Bobtown listed first.
    • Exmore
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Exmore is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exmore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,362 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Exmore <1>
    • Wardtown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Wardtown is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wardtown
    • Pleasant Cove Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Pleasant Cove Village is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Cove Village
    • Nassawadox
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Jamesville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jamesville is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
    • Marionville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Marionville is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marionville
    • Birdsnest
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Sheps End
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Sheps End is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheps End
    • Bridgetown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Bridgetown is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgetown
    • Machipongo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Eastville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Pat Town
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Pat Town is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pat Town
    • Cheriton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Northumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bobtown, with the one closest to Bobtown listed first.
    • Fleeton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Fleeton is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleeton
    • Reedville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Sunnybank
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Sunnybank is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnybank
    • Lynhams
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Lynhams is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynhams
  • Somerset County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bobtown, with the one closest to Bobtown listed first.
    • Lawsonia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Lawsonia is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonia
    • Crisfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Daugherty Town
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Daugherty Town is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daugherty Town
    • Tulls Corner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Tulls Corner is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulls Corner
    • Tylerton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Annemessix Towne ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Annemessix Towne is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annemessix Towne
    • Rhodes Point
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Rhodes Point is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes Point
    • Smith Island
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Smith Island is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Island
    • Rehobeth
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Ewell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Kingston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Kingston is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
    • Fairmount
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Fairmount is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
    • Frenchtown - Rumbly
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Frenchtown - Rumbly is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchtown - Rumbly

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

Cemeteries Near Bobtown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bobtown.

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 Bobtown - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Major Doughty Gravesite
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • McLane Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Pungoteague Community Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Martin/Hatton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin/Hatton
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Martin/Hatton is located outside and to the west of Melfa.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2258639 <2>
  • Joynes Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Fairlawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Fairview Lawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Lawn Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Fairview Lawn Cemetery is located outside and to the southeast of Onancock.
  • Mt. Holly Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Onancock Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Belle Haven Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Phillips Place Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Edge Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (42 more) ...
    • Liberty Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Canton Ridge Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bloxom Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)

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

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

  • Pungoteague
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Keller
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Melfa
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Savageville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Savageville is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savageville
  • Nandua
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Nandua is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nandua
  • Cashville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Cashville is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashville
  • Painter
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Trower
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Trower is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trower
  • Onancock
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Mappsburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Mappsburg is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mappsburg
  • Locust Mount
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Locust Mount is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Mount
  • Onley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Craddockville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Craddockville is located in Accomack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craddockville
    • Belle Haven
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Wachapreague
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Bobtown ...

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 12 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bobtown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bobtown, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bobtown.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Bobtown:

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 Bobtown, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Bobtown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.