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 Bensley Village (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 Bensley Village. 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 Bensley Village ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Bensley Village: Bensley Vlg. (in Canada, 'Vlge.' is the more common abbreviation.)
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 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.
Bensley Village is located in Chesterfield 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 Chesterfield County: Amelia, Charles City, Dinwiddie, Henrico, Hopewell City, Prince George & Richmond.
Below are the counties that are near Bensley Village. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bensley Village:
- Chesterfield County (The home county of Bensley Village)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bensley Village, with the one closest to Bensley Village listed first.
- Bensley
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Bensley is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bensley
- Drewrys Bluff
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Drewrys Bluff is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drewrys Bluff
- Ampt Hill
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Ampt Hill is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ampt Hill
- Bellwood
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Bellwood is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
- Beulah Village
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Beulah Village is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah Village
- Centralia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Centralia is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
- Chester
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Chesterfield Court House
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Chesterfield Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Chesterfield Village is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield Village
- Fendley ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fendley is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fendley
- Bon Air
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Meadowville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Meadowville is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowville
- Amelia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bensley Village, with the one closest to Bensley Village listed first.
- Ammon
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Ammon is located in Amelia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ammon
- Masons Corner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Masons Corner is located in Amelia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masons Corner
- Earls
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Earls is located in Amelia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earls
- Amelia Court House
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Charles City County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bensley Village, with the one closest to Bensley Village listed first.
- Kimages
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Kimages is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimages
- Roxbury
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Roxbury is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
- Westover
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Westover is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Charles City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Ruthville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Ruthville is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthville
- Colonial Heights City
- Colonial Heights
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Dinwiddie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bensley Village, with the one closest to Bensley Village listed first.
- Grant Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Grant Village is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Village
- Addison
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Addison is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Maitland Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Maitland Village is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maitland Village
- Sutherland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Rowanta
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Rowanta is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowanta
- Hebron
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hebron is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Waldemar ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Waldemar is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldemar
- Laird ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Laird is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laird
- Borthwick ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Borthwick is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borthwick
- Wilsons
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wilsons is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsons
- Goochland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bensley Village, with the one closest to Bensley Village listed first.
- Oilville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Thorncliff
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Thorncliff is located in Goochland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorncliff
- Maidens
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Goochland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hanover County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bensley Village, with the one closest to Bensley Village listed first.
- Mechanicsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Atlee Station
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Atlee Station is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlee Station
- Westwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Westwood is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Gwathmey
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Gwathmey is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gwathmey
- Hylas
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hylas is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hylas
- Ashland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Hanover
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rockville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Casco
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Casco is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casco
- Goodall
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Goodall is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodall
- Taylorsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Taylorsville is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorsville
- Vontay
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Vontay is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vontay
- Henrico County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bensley Village, with the one closest to Bensley Village listed first.
- Oakland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Oakland is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Varina Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Varina Grove is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varina Grove
- Varina
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Varina is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varina
- Montrose
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Montrose is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Deep Bottom
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Deep Bottom is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Bottom
- Fort Lee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Fort Lee is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lee
- Turner Woods
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Turner Woods is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner Woods
- Heckler Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Heckler Village is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heckler Village
- Oak Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Oak Hill is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Fair Oaks
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fair Oaks is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
- Highland Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lee Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lee Park is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Park
- Hopewell City
- Hopewell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- King and Queen County
- Walkerton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Walkerton is located in King and Queen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkerton
- King William County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bensley Village, with the one closest to Bensley Village listed first.
- Enfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Enfield is located in King William County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
- Manquin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Rumford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rumford is located in King William County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rumford
- Tuck Fork
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Tuck Fork is located in King William County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuck Fork
- Lanesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lanesville is located in King William County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanesville
- New Kent County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bensley Village, with the one closest to Bensley Village listed first.
- Tunstall
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Tunstall is located in New Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunstall
- New Kent
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Nottoway County
- Spainville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Spainville is located in Nottoway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spainville
- Petersburg City
- Petersburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Powhatan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bensley Village, with the one closest to Bensley Village listed first.
- Huguenot
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Huguenot is located in Powhatan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huguenot
- Dorset
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Dorset is located in Powhatan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorset
- Pilkinton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Pilkinton is located in Powhatan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilkinton
- Michaux
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Michaux is located in Powhatan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michaux
- Beaumont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Beaumont is located in Powhatan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaumont
- Prince George County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bensley Village, with the one closest to Bensley Village listed first.
- Garysville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Garysville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garysville
- Derby ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Derby is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
- Newville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Newville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
- Burrowsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Burrowsville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrowsville
- Talpa ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Talpa is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talpa
- Richmond City
- The following are listed by their distance from Bensley Village, with the one closest to Bensley Village listed first.
- Montrose Heights
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Montrose Heights is located in Richmond City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose Heights
- Richmond
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Richmond County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bensley Village, with the one closest to Bensley Village listed first.
- Walmsley Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Walmsley Village is located in Richmond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walmsley Village
- Cherry Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Cherry Gardens is located in Richmond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Gardens
- Chippenham Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Chippenham Village is located in Richmond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippenham Village
- Surry County
- Claremont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Claremont is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bensley Village, see our County-by-County Page for Bensley Village.
Cemeteries Near Bensley Village ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bensley Village.
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 Bensley Village - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bensley Village covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bensley Village, with the one closest to Bensley Village listed first.
- Cary Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Centralia Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- St. James Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Salem Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Old Lane Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Ft. Harrison National Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Varina Episcopal Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Laurel Hill UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill UMC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Laurel Hill UMC Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the west of Varina.
- The Laurel Hill UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Laurel Hill Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2205347 <3>
- Maury Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Perdue Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Sunset Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (261 more) ...
- Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- First Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- James Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
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 Bensley Village in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bensley Village.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bensley Village, with the one closest to Bensley Village listed first.
- Drewrys Bluff
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Drewrys Bluff is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drewrys Bluff
- Centralia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Centralia is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
- Chesterfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Chester
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Varina Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Varina Grove is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varina Grove
- Fendley ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fendley is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fendley
- Cotman ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Cotman is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotman
- Fort Lee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Fort Lee is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lee
- Walthall
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Walthall is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walthall
- Meadowville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Meadowville is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowville
- Bon Air
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Seven Pines
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Seven Pines is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Pines
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Fair Oaks
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fair Oaks is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
- Highland Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Robious
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Robious is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robious
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bensley Village. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bensley Village.
Newspapers Published in Bensley Village ...
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 461 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bensley Village.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bensley Village, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bensley Village.
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 helpful 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 Bensley Village:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Chesterfield County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Amelia County
- Charles City County
- Colonial Heights City
- Dinwiddie County
- Goochland County
- Hanover County
- Henrico County
- Hopewell City
- King and Queen County
- King William County
- New Kent County
- Nottoway County
- Petersburg City
- Powhatan County
- Prince George County
- Richmond City
- Richmond County
- Surry 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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Bensley Village) 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 Bensley Village, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |