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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 Allison (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 Allison. 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 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.

Allison is located in Wythe 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 Wythe County: Bland, Carroll, Grayson, Pulaski & Smyth.

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

  • Wythe County     (The home county of Allison)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Allison, with the one closest to Allison listed first.
    • Locust Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
    • Max Meadows
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Austinville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Fort Chiswell
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
    • Siloam
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Siloam is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
    • Ivanhoe
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Kent
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Kent is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
    • Wytheville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Rowe Crossroads
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
    • Crockett
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Speedwell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Speedwell is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
    • Rural Retreat
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Bland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Allison, with the one closest to Allison listed first.
    • Mechanicsburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
    • Bland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Bastian
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Hicksville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Hicksville is located in Bland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
    • Round Bottom
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Round Bottom is located in Bland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
    • Rocky Gap
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
  • Carroll County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Allison, with the one closest to Allison listed first.
    • Shorts Creek
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
    • Sylvatus
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
    • Sheep Town
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
    • Oak Grove
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Star
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Star is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
    • Hillsville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodlawn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Dugspur
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Pipers Gap
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
    • Fancy Gap
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Gladesboro
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Gladesboro is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesboro
    • Drenn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Drenn is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
  • Floyd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Allison, with the one closest to Allison listed first.
    • Indian Valley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Duncan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Duncan is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
    • Sowers
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Sowers is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sowers
    • Floyd
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Poff
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Poff is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poff
  • Galax City
    • Galax
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Giles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Allison, with the one closest to Allison listed first.
    • Poplar Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Poplar Hill is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hill
    • Thessalia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Thessalia is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
    • Shumate
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Shumate is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
    • Goodwins Ferry
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Goodwins Ferry is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwins Ferry
    • Narrows
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Pearisburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Eggleston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bluff City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Bluff City is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
    • Pembroke
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Glen Lyn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Glen Lyn is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Lyn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
  • Grayson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Allison, with the one closest to Allison listed first.
    • Fries
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Elk Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Baywood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Baywood is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
    • Low Gap
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Low Gap is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
    • Independence
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Allison, with the one closest to Allison listed first.
    • Childress
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Childress is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childress
    • Riner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Rogers
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Rogers is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
    • Pilot
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Christiansburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Prices Fork
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Prices Fork is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prices Fork
    • Merrimac
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Merrimac is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
    • Oak Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Oak Grove is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Old Farm Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Old Farm Village is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Farm Village
    • Raintree Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Raintree Village is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raintree Village
    • Houchins
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Houchins is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houchins
    • McBryde Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • McBryde Village is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBryde Village
  • Patrick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Allison, with the one closest to Allison listed first.
    • Meadows of Dan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Ararat
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Carters Mill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Carters Mill is located in Patrick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Mill
  • Pulaski County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Allison, with the one closest to Allison listed first.
    • Draper
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Pulaski
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Mack Creek Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Mack Creek Village is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack Creek Village
    • Hilton Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Hilton Village is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
    • Wurno
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Wurno is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurno
    • Newbern
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Dublin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Sassin ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Sassin is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
    • Snowville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Snowville is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowville
    • Fairlawn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairlawn is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn
    • Cowan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Cowan is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
    • Parrott
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Parrott is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrott
  • Radford City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Allison, with the one closest to Allison listed first.
    • New Town
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • New Town is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
    • Radford Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Radford Village is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford Village
    • Radford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Simpkins Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Simpkins Village is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpkins Village
    • Sunset Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Sunset Village is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
    • Mill Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Mill Village is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
  • Alleghany County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Allison, with the one closest to Allison listed first.
    • Edmonds
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Edmonds is located in Alleghany County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
    • Ennice
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Surry County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Allison, with the one closest to Allison listed first.
    • Low Gap
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Round Peak
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Round Peak is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Peak
  • Mercer County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Allison, with the one closest to Allison listed first.
    • East River ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • East River is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
    • Oakvale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Oakvale is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakvale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
    • Blake ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Blake is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
    • Willowton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Willowton is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowton
    • Bethel ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel

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

Cemeteries Near Allison ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Allison.

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

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

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

  • Bertha Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Graham Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Drapers Valley Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Oglesby Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Sanders Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Fosters Falls Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Alexander Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Osbourne Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • James McGavock Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Shorts Creek - Frazier Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Parnell Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Jackson Peak Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (599 more) ...

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

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

  • Bertha
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Bertha is located in Wythe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertha
  • Barren Springs
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Grahams Forge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Grahams Forge is located in Wythe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahams Forge
  • Fosters Falls
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Fosters Falls is located in Wythe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosters Falls
  • Kayoulah
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Kayoulah is located in Pulaski County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kayoulah
  • Allisonia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Allisonia is located in Pulaski County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allisonia
  • Walton Furnace
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Walton Furnace is located in Wythe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walton Furnace
  • Austinville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Shorts Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
  • Sylvatus
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
  • Max Meadows
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Draper
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Pulaski
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Ivanhoe
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Star
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Star is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star

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

Newspapers Published in Allison ...

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 39 newspapers that have been published in the area around Allison.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Allison, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Allison.

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 Allison:

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