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 Ashley (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 Ashley. 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 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.
Ashley is located in Dinwiddie 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 Dinwiddie County: Amelia, Brunswick, Chesterfield, Greensville, Nottoway, Prince George & Sussex.
Below are the counties that are near Ashley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ashley:
- Dinwiddie County (The home county of Ashley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Grant Village
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Grant Village is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Village
- Maitland Village
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Maitland Village is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maitland Village
- Addison
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Addison is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Sutherland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Rowanta
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Rowanta is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowanta
- Waldemar ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Waldemar is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldemar
- Laird ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Laird is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laird
- Borthwick ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Borthwick is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borthwick
- Hebron
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Hebron is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- McKenney
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Darvills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Darvills is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darvills
- Wilsons
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Wilsons is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsons
- Oldenplace ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Oldenplace is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldenplace
- Amelia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Ammon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Ammon is located in Amelia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ammon
- Earls
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Earls is located in Amelia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earls
- Masons Corner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Masons Corner is located in Amelia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masons Corner
- Amelia Court House
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Brunswick County
- Callaville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Callaville is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callaville
- Charles City County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Kimages
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Kimages is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimages
- Westover
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Westover is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Charles City
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Roxbury
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Roxbury is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
- Ruthville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ruthville is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthville
- Chesterfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Matoaca
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Matoaca is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaca
- Bollinger Estates
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bollinger Estates is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bollinger Estates
- Ettrick
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Braebrook Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Braebrook Village is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braebrook Village
- Chester
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Holly ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Holly is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly
- Centralia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Centralia is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
- Chesterfield Court House
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Screamersville ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Screamersville is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamersville
- Fendley ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fendley is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fendley
- Beulah Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Beulah Village is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah Village
- Bermuda Hundred ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bermuda Hundred is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bermuda Hundred
- Meadowville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Meadowville is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowville
- Colonial Heights City
- Colonial Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Greensville County
- Jarratt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hanover County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Mechanicsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Atlee Station
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Atlee Station is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlee Station
- Henrico County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Deep Bottom
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Deep Bottom is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Bottom
- Varina Grove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Varina Grove is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varina Grove
- Varina
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Varina is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varina
- Oakland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Oakland is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Turner Woods
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Turner Woods is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner Woods
- Fort Lee
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Fort Lee is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lee
- Glendale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Glendale is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Montrose
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Montrose is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Heckler Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Heckler Village is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heckler Village
- Sandston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Elko
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Elko is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko
- Lee Park
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lee Park is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Park
- Fair Oaks
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Fair Oaks is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
- Hopewell City
- Hopewell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Nottoway County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Spainville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Spainville is located in Nottoway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spainville
- Forkland ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Forkland is located in Nottoway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forkland
- Blackstone
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Petersburg City
- Petersburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Powhatan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Pilkinton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Pilkinton is located in Powhatan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilkinton
- Dorset
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dorset is located in Powhatan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorset
- Huguenot
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Huguenot is located in Powhatan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huguenot
- Prince George County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Derby ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Derby is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
- Talpa ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Talpa is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talpa
- Garysville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Garysville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garysville
- Newville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Newville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
- Burrowsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Burrowsville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrowsville
- Richmond City
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Montrose Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Montrose Heights is located in Richmond City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose Heights
- Richmond
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Richmond County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Walmsley Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Walmsley Village is located in Richmond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walmsley Village
- Cherry Gardens
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Cherry Gardens is located in Richmond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Gardens
- Chippenham Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Chippenham Village is located in Richmond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippenham Village
- Surry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Carsley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Carsley is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carsley
- Spring Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Spring Grove is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
- Claremont
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Claremont is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
- Sussex County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Stony Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Sussex
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Sussex is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sussex
- Waverly
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Yale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Yale is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yale
- Henry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Henry is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ashley, see our County-by-County Page for Ashley.
Cemeteries Near Ashley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ashley.
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 Ashley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ashley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Ettrick Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jones Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Woods Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Smiths Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Dinwiddie Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dinwiddie Memorial Park
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Dinwiddie Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #50042 <2>
- St. Johns Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hollywood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Wyatt Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ocran UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocran UMC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Ocran UMC Cemetery is located in Sutherland.
- The Ocran UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Ocran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #51509 <2>
- Poplar Grove National Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Peoples Memorial Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoples Memorial Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Peoples Memorial Cemetery is located in Petersburg.
- The Peoples Memorial Cemetery has also been known as:
- Providence Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2192025 <2>
- Little Church Street Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (279 more) ...
- Andrews Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Olgers Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Rocky Branch Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
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 Ashley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ashley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ashley, with the one closest to Ashley listed first.
- Matoaca
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Matoaca is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaca
- Pembroke
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Pembroke is located in Petersburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pembroke
- Ettrick
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sutherland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Burgess
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Burgess is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burgess
- Walthall
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Walthall is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walthall
- Chester
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Marmona
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Marmona is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marmona
- Derby ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Derby is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
- Holly ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Holly is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly
- Templeton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Templeton is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Templeton
- Fendley ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fendley is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fendley
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Centralia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Centralia is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
- Chesterfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Glendoyle ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Glendoyle is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendoyle
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ashley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ashley.
Newspapers Published in Ashley ...
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 120 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ashley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ashley, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ashley.
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 Ashley:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Dinwiddie County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Amelia County
- Brunswick County
- Charles City County
- Chesterfield County
- Colonial Heights City
- Greensville County
- Hanover County
- Henrico County
- Hopewell City
- Nottoway County
- Petersburg City
- Powhatan County
- Prince George County
- Richmond City
- Richmond County
- Surry County
- Sussex 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 Ashley, 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- Ashley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |