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 Bertha (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 Bertha. 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 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.
Bertha 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 Bertha. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bertha:
- Wythe County (The home county of Bertha)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bertha, with the one closest to Bertha listed first.
- Austinville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Locust Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Fort Chiswell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Max Meadows
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ivanhoe
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Kent
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Wytheville
(14 miles [22.5 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
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Speedwell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- 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 Bertha, with the one closest to Bertha listed first.
- Mechanicsburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
- Bland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bastian
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hicksville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Round Bottom
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Round Bottom is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
- Rocky Gap
(28 miles [45.1 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 Bertha, with the one closest to Bertha listed first.
- Shorts Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
- Sylvatus
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
- Sheep Town
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
- Star
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Star is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Oak Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Hillsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Woodlawn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Dugspur
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Pipers Gap
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
- Fancy Gap
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Drenn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Drenn is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
- Gladesboro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Gladesboro is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesboro
- Nester
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Nester is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nester
- Floyd County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bertha, with the one closest to Bertha listed first.
- Indian Valley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Duncan
(18 miles [29 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
- Haycock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Haycock is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haycock
- Galax City
- Galax
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Giles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bertha, with the one closest to Bertha listed first.
- Poplar Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Poplar Hill is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hill
- Thessalia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Thessalia is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
- Shumate
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Shumate is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
- Goodwins Ferry
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Goodwins Ferry is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwins Ferry
- Narrows
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Pearisburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Eggleston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bluff City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Bluff City is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Pembroke
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Grayson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bertha, with the one closest to Bertha listed first.
- Fries
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Baywood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Baywood is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
- Elk Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Low Gap
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Low Gap is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Independence
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bridle Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bertha, with the one closest to Bertha 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
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Pilot
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Christiansburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rogers
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rogers is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- 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
- Prices Fork
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Prices Fork is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prices Fork
- Merrimac
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Merrimac is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
- 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
- Patrick County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bertha, with the one closest to Bertha listed first.
- Meadows of Dan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ararat
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Carters Mill
(28 miles [45.1 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 Bertha, with the one closest to Bertha listed first.
- Draper
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mack Creek Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mack Creek Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack Creek Village
- Pulaski
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Hilton Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Hilton Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
- Wurno
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wurno is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurno
- Newbern
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Dublin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sassin ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Sassin is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
- Snowville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Snowville is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowville
- Fairlawn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fairlawn is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn
- Cowan
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Cowan is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
- Parrott
(23 miles [37 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 Bertha, with the one closest to Bertha listed first.
- New Town
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- New Town is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Radford Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Radford Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford Village
- Simpkins Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Simpkins Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpkins Village
- Sunset Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sunset Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Radford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mill Village
(22 miles [35.4 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 Bertha, with the one closest to Bertha listed first.
- Edmonds
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Edmonds is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
- Ennice
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Hooker
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Surry County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bertha, with the one closest to Bertha listed first.
- Low Gap
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Round Peak
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Round Peak is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Peak
- Toast
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Toast is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toast
- Red Brush
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Red Brush is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Brush
- Flat Rock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Flat Rock is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
- Mount Airy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mercer County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bertha, with the one closest to Bertha listed first.
- East River ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- East River is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
- Oakvale
(30 miles [48.3 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
- Willowton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Willowton is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowton
- Blake ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Blake is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bertha, see our County-by-County Page for Bertha.
Cemeteries Near Bertha ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bertha.
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 Bertha - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bertha covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bertha, with the one closest to Bertha listed first.
- Bertha Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Fosters Falls Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Graham Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sanders Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Alexander Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Shorts Creek - Frazier Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Parnell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Drapers Valley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Oglesby Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jackson Peak Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Quesenberry - Dalton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Osbourne Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (577 more) ...
- Round Knob Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Allen Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Bertha had a population of 76 people in 1895 with railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bertha, with the one closest to Bertha listed first.
- Fosters Falls
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Fosters Falls is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosters Falls
- Barren Springs
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Kayoulah
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Kayoulah is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kayoulah
- Shorts Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
- Sylvatus
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
- Grahams Forge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Grahams Forge is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahams Forge
- Walton Furnace
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Walton Furnace is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walton Furnace
- Austinville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Allisonia
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Allisonia is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allisonia
- Ivanhoe
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Star
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Star is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Draper
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Max Meadows
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hillsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pulaski
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bertha. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bertha.
Newspapers Published in Bertha ...
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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bertha.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bertha, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bertha.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Bertha:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Wythe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bland County
- Carroll County
- Floyd County
- Galax City
- Giles County
- Grayson County
- Montgomery County
- Patrick County
- Pulaski County
- Radford City
- Alleghany County
- Surry County
- Mercer 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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bertha) 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 Bertha, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |