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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 Chancetown (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 Chancetown. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.

Chancetown is located in Accomack County.

To see how the shape of Virginia's counties 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 Chancetown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Chancetown:

  • Accomack County     (The home county of Chancetown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chancetown, with the one closest to Chancetown listed first.
    • Locustville
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Locust Mount
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Mount
      • Locust Mount is located in Accomack County
    • Wachapreague
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Melfa
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Keller
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Onley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Tasley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tasley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tasley
      • Tasley is located in Accomack County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tasley <1>
    • Painter
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Accomac
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Accomac have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Accomac
      • Accomac is located in Accomack County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 482 people
    • Crockett Town
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crockett Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crockett Town
      • Crockett Town is located in Accomack County
    • Onancock
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenbush
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbush
      • Greenbush is located in Accomack County
    • Cats Bridge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cats Bridge
      • Cats Bridge is located in Accomack County
  • Northampton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chancetown, with the one closest to Chancetown listed first.
    • Exmore
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exmore
      • Exmore is located in Northampton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,362 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Exmore <1>
    • Wardtown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wardtown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wardtown
      • Wardtown is located in Northampton County
    • Nassawadox
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jamesville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
      • Jamesville is located in Northampton County
    • Pleasant Cove Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Cove Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Cove Village
      • Pleasant Cove Village is located in Northampton County
    • Birdsnest
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sheps End
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheps End
      • Sheps End is located in Northampton County
    • Bridgetown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bridgetown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgetown
      • Bridgetown is located in Northampton County
    • Machipongo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Machipongo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Machipongo
      • Machipongo is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Machipongo <1>
    • Eastville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eastville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastville
      • Eastville is located in Northampton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 345 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eastville <1>
    • Pat Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pat Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pat Town
      • Pat Town is located in Northampton County
    • Cheriton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cheriton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheriton
      • Cheriton is located in Northampton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cheriton <1>
    • Cherrystone
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherrystone have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrystone
      • Cherrystone is located in Northampton County
  • Somerset County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chancetown, with the one closest to Chancetown listed first.
    • Lawsonia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawsonia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonia
      • Lawsonia is located in Somerset County (MD)
    • Crisfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crisfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crisfield
      • Crisfield is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,534 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crisfield <1>
    • Daugherty Town
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Daugherty Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daugherty Town
      • Daugherty Town is located in Somerset County (MD)
    • Tulls Corner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulls Corner
      • Tulls Corner is located in Somerset County (MD)
    • Annemessix Towne ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Annemessix Towne have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annemessix Towne
      • Annemessix Towne is located in Somerset County (MD)
    • Rehobeth
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rehobeth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rehobeth
      • Rehobeth is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rehobeth <1>
    • Tylerton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Ewell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ewell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewell
      • Ewell is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ewell <1>
    • Rhodes Point
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes Point
      • Rhodes Point is located in Somerset County (MD)
    • Smith Island
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smith Island have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Island
      • Smith Island is located in Somerset County (MD)
  • Worcester County (MD)
    • Pocomoke City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pocomoke City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocomoke City
      • Pocomoke City is located in Worcester County (MD)
      • 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>

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

Newspapers Published in Chancetown ...

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 10 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chancetown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Chancetown, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Chancetown.

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 either 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 Chancetown:

Cemeteries Near Chancetown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chancetown.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Martin/Hatton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Joynes Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Joynes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Joynes Cemetery
  • Mt. Holly Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Fairlawn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairlawn Cemetery
  • Fairview Lawn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Fairview Lawn Cemetery is located outside and to the southeast of Onancock.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Lawn Cemetery
  • Onancock Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Onancock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Onancock Cemetery
  • Major Doughty Gravesite
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Edge Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Edge Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Edge Hill Cemetery
  • McLane Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the McLane Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McLane Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2332732 <4>
  • Pungoteague Community Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Belle Haven Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Phillips Place Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Phillips Place Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Phillips Place Cemetery
  • Continue List   (34 more) ...
    • Liberty Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Bloxom Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bloxom Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bloxom Cemetery
    • Wessells Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wessells Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wessells Cemetery

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.<6>

While we didn't find Chancetown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Chancetown.

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

  • Locust Mount
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Mount
    • Locust Mount is located in Accomack County
  • Wachapreague
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Locustville
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Trower
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trower have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trower
    • Trower is located in Accomack County
  • Melfa
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Keller
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Onley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Daugherty
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Daugherty have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daugherty
    • Daugherty is located in Accomack County
  • Savageville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Savageville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savageville
    • Savageville is located in Accomack County
  • Tasley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tasley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tasley
    • Tasley is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tasley <1>
  • Painter
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Mappsburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mappsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mappsburg
    • Mappsburg is located in Accomack County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Onancock
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Pungoteague
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pungoteague have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pungoteague
      • Pungoteague is located in Accomack County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pungoteague <1>
    • Cashville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cashville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashville
      • Cashville is located in Accomack County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Chancetown. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Accomack County: www.co.accomack.va.us/

The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/

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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Chancetown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Chancetown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.6324, Longitude: -75.7005       In this case, the coordinates for Chancetown have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<6>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 Chancetown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024