RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Louisa County >> Bells Crossroads >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Virginia

The Commemorative Quarter for Virginia





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 Bells Crossroads (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 Bells Crossroads. 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 Bells Crossroads ...

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 have occurred.

  • A typical abbreviation for Bells Crossroads: Bells Xrds.
  • While the name of this community is Bells Crossroads, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Bells Crossroads may originally have been Bell's Crossroads.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Bells Crossroads might be written as Bell Crossroads.

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 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.

Bells Crossroads is located in Louisa 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 Louisa County: Fluvanna, Goochland, Hanover, Orange & Spotsylvania.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Bells Crossroads ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bells Crossroads.

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 Bells Crossroads covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Martin Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Martin Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Martin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Grubbs Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grubbs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grubbs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jones Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jones Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jones Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Henson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Henson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Henson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cooke Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Watson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Watson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Watson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oakland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hillcrest Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillcrest Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillcrest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hope Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hope Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bowles Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bowles Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bowles Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Payne Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Payne Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Payne Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Spring Grove Memorial Park Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (190 more) ...
    • Taylor Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Taylor Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Taylor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Bruce Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bruce Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bruce Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Woodbury Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodbury Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodbury Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Bells Crossroads had a population of 23 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Cranks ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cranks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranks
    • Cranks is located in Louisa County
  • Mallory ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mallory have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallory
    • Mallory is located in Louisa County
  • Vigor
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vigor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vigor
    • Vigor is located in Louisa County
  • Medlock
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Medlock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medlock
    • Medlock is located in Louisa County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Medlock
    • From Bells Crossroads to Medlock
  • Kents Store
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Shannon Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shannon Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannon Hill
    • Shannon Hill is located in Goochland County
  • Louisa
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Louisa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisa
    • Louisa is located in Louisa County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,764 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Louisa <4>
  • Trevilians
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Bybee
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bybee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bybee
    • Bybee is located in Fluvanna County
  • Tabscott
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tabscott have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabscott
    • Tabscott is located in Goochland County
  • Green Springs
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Oakland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
    • Oakland is located in Louisa County
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Zion
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zion have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion
      • Zion is located in Louisa County
    • Caledonia
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Cuckoo
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Bells Crossroads ...

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 15 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bells Crossroads.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bells Crossroads, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bells Crossroads.

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 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 Bells Crossroads:

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

The official website for Louisa County: www.louisacounty.com/

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

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>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>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.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.
<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 Bells Crossroads, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>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- Bells Crossroads) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bells Crossroads. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9622, Longitude: -78.0817       In this case, the coordinates for Bells Crossroads have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025