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 Berkeley (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 Berkeley. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Berkeley is located in Charles City 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 Charles City County: Chesterfield, Henrico, James City, New Kent, Prince George & Surry.
Below are the counties that are near Berkeley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Berkeley:
- Charles City County (The home county of Berkeley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Berkeley, with the one closest to Berkeley listed first.
- Westover
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Westover is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Kimages
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Kimages is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimages
- Charles City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ruthville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ruthville is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthville
- Roxbury
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Roxbury is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
- Chesterfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berkeley, with the one closest to Berkeley listed first.
- Bermuda Hundred ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Bermuda Hundred is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bermuda Hundred
- Meadowville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Meadowville is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowville
- Screamersville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Screamersville is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamersville
- Bollinger Estates
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Bollinger Estates is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bollinger Estates
- Braebrook Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Braebrook Village is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braebrook Village
- Chester
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Ettrick
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Bellwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bellwood is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
- Bensley Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bensley Village is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bensley Village
- Bensley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bensley is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bensley
- Centralia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Centralia is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
- Ampt Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ampt Hill is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ampt Hill
- Beulah Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Beulah Village is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah Village
- Colonial Heights City
- Colonial Heights
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Dinwiddie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berkeley, with the one closest to Berkeley listed first.
- Grant Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Grant Village is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Village
- Maitland Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Maitland Village is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maitland Village
- Addison
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Addison is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Sutherland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Rowanta
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Rowanta is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowanta
- Waldemar ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Waldemar is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldemar
- Laird ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Laird is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laird
- Hanover County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berkeley, with the one closest to Berkeley listed first.
- Westwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Westwood is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Mechanicsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Atlee Station
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- 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 Berkeley, with the one closest to Berkeley listed first.
- Glendale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Glendale is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Deep Bottom
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Deep Bottom is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Bottom
- Elko
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Elko is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko
- Turner Woods
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Turner Woods is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner Woods
- Varina Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Varina Grove is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varina Grove
- Varina
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Varina is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varina
- Currituck Farms
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Currituck Farms is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Currituck Farms
- Windsor
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Windsor is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
- Fort Lee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Lee is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lee
- Green Meadows
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Green Meadows is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Meadows
- Lee Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lee Park is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Park
- Fair Oaks
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fair Oaks is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
- Sandston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hopewell City
- Hopewell
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- James City County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berkeley, with the one closest to Berkeley listed first.
- Norge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Jamestown
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- King and Queen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berkeley, with the one closest to Berkeley listed first.
- Mattaponi
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Walkerton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Walkerton is located in King and Queen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkerton
- King and Queen Court House
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Plain View
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Plain View is located in King and Queen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plain View
- King William County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berkeley, with the one closest to Berkeley listed first.
- Lanesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Lanesville is located in King William County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanesville
- Romancoke
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Romancoke is located in King William County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romancoke
- Manquin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- West Point
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rumford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Rumford is located in King William County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rumford
- Enfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Enfield is located in King William County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
- New Kent County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berkeley, with the one closest to Berkeley listed first.
- New Kent
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tunstall
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Tunstall is located in New Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunstall
- Plum Point
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Plum Point is located in New Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Point
- Petersburg City
- Petersburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Prince George County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berkeley, with the one closest to Berkeley listed first.
- Garysville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Garysville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garysville
- Newville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Newville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
- Burrowsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Burrowsville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrowsville
- Derby ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Derby is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
- Talpa ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Talpa is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talpa
- Richmond City
- The following are listed by their distance from Berkeley, with the one closest to Berkeley listed first.
- Montrose Heights
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Montrose Heights is located in Richmond City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose Heights
- Richmond
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Richmond County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berkeley, with the one closest to Berkeley listed first.
- Walmsley Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Walmsley Village is located in Richmond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walmsley Village
- Cherry Gardens
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cherry Gardens is located in Richmond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Gardens
- Chippenham Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- 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 Berkeley, with the one closest to Berkeley listed first.
- Claremont
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Claremont is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
- Spring Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Grove is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
- Carsley
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Carsley is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carsley
- Surry
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dendron
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Scotland
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Scotland is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
- Beachland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Beachland is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beachland
- Homewood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Homewood is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homewood
- Itata
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Itata is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Itata
- Sussex County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berkeley, with the one closest to Berkeley listed first.
- Waverly
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Wakefield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sussex
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Sussex is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sussex
- Stony Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Williamsburg City
- Williamsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- York County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berkeley, with the one closest to Berkeley listed first.
- Barlows Corner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Barlows Corner is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlows Corner
- Oaktree
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Oaktree is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaktree
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Berkeley, see our County-by-County Page for Berkeley.
Cemeteries Near Berkeley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Berkeley.
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 Berkeley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Berkeley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Berkeley, with the one closest to Berkeley listed first.
- Merchants Hope Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Harrison Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Salem Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Grace Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Sinai Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Appomattox Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- City Point National Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Mapsico Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Union Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bermuda Memorial Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Glendale National Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (231 more) ...
- Willis UMC Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bucher and Strachan Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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.<4>
While we didn't find Berkeley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Berkeley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Berkeley, with the one closest to Berkeley listed first.
- Westover
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Westover is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Garysville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Garysville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garysville
- Shirley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Shirley is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
- Bermuda Hundred ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Bermuda Hundred is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bermuda Hundred
- Weyanoke
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Weyanoke is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyanoke
- Ruthville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ruthville is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthville
- Meadowville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Meadowville is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowville
- Glendale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Glendale is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Newville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Newville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
- Burrowsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Burrowsville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrowsville
- Brandon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brandon is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
- Mountcastle
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mountcastle is located in New Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountcastle
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Roxbury
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Roxbury is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
- Cotman ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cotman is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotman
- Elko
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Elko is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Berkeley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Berkeley.
Newspapers Published in Berkeley ...
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 118 newspapers that have been published in the area around Berkeley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Berkeley, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Berkeley.
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 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 Berkeley:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Charles City County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Chesterfield County
- Colonial Heights City
- Dinwiddie County
- Hanover County
- Henrico County
- Hopewell City
- James City County
- King and Queen County
- King William County
- New Kent County
- Petersburg City
- Prince George County
- Richmond City
- Richmond County
- Surry County
- Sussex County
- Williamsburg City
- York 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Berkeley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Berkeley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |