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 Tunnels Mill (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 Tunnels Mill. 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 Tunnels Mill ...
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 Tunnels Mill: Tunnels Ml. (or less commonly used: Tunnels Mll.)
- While the name of this community is Tunnels Mill, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Tunnels Mill may originally have been Tunnel's Mill.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Tunnels Mill might be written as Tunnel Mill.
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 northwest 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 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.
Tunnels Mill 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 Tunnels Mill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Tunnels Mill:
- Accomack County (The home county of Tunnels Mill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Tunnels Mill, with the one closest to Tunnels Mill listed first.
- Withams
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Withams is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Withams
- Wattsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wattsville is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Temperanceville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Sign Post
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Sign Post is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sign Post
- Groton Town
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Groton Town is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groton Town
- Hallwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hallwood is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Atlantic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sinnickson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Sinnickson is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinnickson
- Mappsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Saxis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Saxis is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 230 people
- Bloxom
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Greenbackville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Somerset County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Tunnels Mill, with the one closest to Tunnels Mill listed first.
- Rehobeth
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Costen
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Costen is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Costen
- West Pocomoke
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- West Pocomoke is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pocomoke
- Tulls Corner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Tulls Corner is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulls Corner
- Kingston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Kingston is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Annemessix Towne ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Annemessix Towne is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annemessix Towne
- Westover
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lawsonia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Lawsonia is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonia
- Manokin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Manokin is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manokin
- Crisfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Daugherty Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Daugherty Town is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daugherty Town
- Fairmount
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fairmount is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
- Wicomico County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Tunnels Mill, with the one closest to Tunnels Mill listed first.
- Allen
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Allen is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
- Fruitland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Twiggs Corner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Twiggs Corner is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twiggs Corner
- Whiton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Whiton is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
- Capitola
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Capitola is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitola
- Green Hill Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Green Hill Village is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill Village
- Dogwood Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Dogwood Village is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood Village
- Salisbury
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Powellville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Powellville is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellville
- Jesterville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jesterville is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jesterville
- Nanticoke
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Nanticoke is located in Wicomico County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nanticoke
- Bivalve
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Worcester County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Tunnels Mill, with the one closest to Tunnels Mill listed first.
- Pocomoke City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- 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 <2>
- Stockton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Girdletree
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Girdletree is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girdletree
- Snow Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cedartown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cedartown is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedartown
- Newark
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Tunnels Mill, see our County-by-County Page for Tunnels Mill.
Cemeteries Near Tunnels Mill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Tunnels Mill.
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 Tunnels Mill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Tunnels Mill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Tunnels Mill, with the one closest to Tunnels Mill listed first.
- St. James Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Pitts Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Sinai Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Salem Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Rehobeth Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rehobeth Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Trinity Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Wessells Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Remson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (103 more) ...
- Rehobeth Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bloxom Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- St. Marks Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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.<4>
While we didn't find Tunnels Mill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Tunnels Mill.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Tunnels Mill, with the one closest to Tunnels Mill listed first.
- New Church
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Horsey
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Horsey is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horsey
- Messongo
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Messongo is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Messongo
- Wattsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wattsville is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Sanford
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Sanford is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanford
- Belinda
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Belinda is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belinda
- Temperanceville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Hallwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hallwood is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Atlantic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Horntown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Rehobeth
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Marumsco
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Marumsco is located in Somerset County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marumsco
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Mearsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mearsville is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mearsville
- Welbourne
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Welbourne is located in Worcester County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welbourne
- Pocomoke City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- 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 <2>
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Tunnels Mill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Tunnels Mill.
Newspapers Published in Tunnels Mill ...
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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Tunnels Mill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Tunnels Mill, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Tunnels Mill.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Tunnels Mill:
- 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> | 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> | 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. |
| <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 Tunnels Mill, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Tunnels Mill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |