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 Big Island (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 Big Island. 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 Big Island ...
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 Big Island: Big Is. (in Canada, 'Isld.' is the more common abbreviation.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Big Island. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Big Island.
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Big Island is located in Bedford 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 Bedford County: Amherst, Botetourt, Campbell, Franklin, Pittsylvania, Roanoke & Rockbridge.
Below are the counties that are near Big Island. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Big Island:
- Bedford County (The home county of Big Island)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Waugh
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Waugh is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Coleman Falls
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
- Abert
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Abert is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
- Boonsboro
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
- Cifax
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Bellevue
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Bellevue is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Forest
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Goode
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Lowry
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Peaksville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Joppa Mill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
- Montvale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Iron Gate
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Iron Gate is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
- Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
- Griffith
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Griffith is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffith
- Amherst County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Pedlar Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Pleasant View
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Allwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Allwood is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
- Winesap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Winesap is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Forks of Buffalo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
- Coolwell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Coolwell is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
- Madison Heights
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sweet Briar Station
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
- Sandidges
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sandidges is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
- Monitor
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Monitor is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- Amherst
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Alto
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Alto is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Appomattox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Beckham
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Beckham is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckham
- Mineral ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Mineral is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
- Spout Spring
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Spout Spring is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spout Spring
- Bent Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Bent Creek is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
- Augusta County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Steeles Tavern
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Spottswood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Spottswood is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spottswood
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Botetourt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Rocky Point
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
- Buchanan
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Lithia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Salt Petre Cave
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Salt Petre Cave is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Petre Cave
- Salt Petre Cave has also been known as:
- Salt Peter Cave
- Saltpetre
- Springwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Salisbury
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Botetourt ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Gala
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Gala is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gala
- Blue Ridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fincastle
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Glen Wilton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Glen Wilton is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Wilton
- Haden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Haden is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
- Buena Vista City
- Buena Vista
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Powhatan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Powhatan is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
- Timberlake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Bedford Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Lawyers
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Lawyers is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
- Mount Athos ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Athos is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Athos
- Yellow Branch
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
- Rustburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Concord
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lynch Station
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Lynch Station is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Station
- Altavista
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Leesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Leesville is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Mount Zion
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Zion is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Lexington City
- Lexington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Lynchburg City
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Woodbine Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Lavino Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Lynchburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Nelson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Massies Mill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Massies Mill is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massies Mill
- Colleen
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Colleen is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colleen
- Buffalo Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Buffalo Springs is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Springs
- Gladstone
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Arrington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jonesboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jonesboro is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
- Tyro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bryant
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bryant is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Norwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Norwood is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Pittsylvania County
- Hurt
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Hurt is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hurt <1>
- Rockbridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Glasgow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Greenlee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Buffalo Forge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Fancy Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Natural Bridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Red Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Springfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Springfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Zollman ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
- Riverside
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- East Lexington
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
- Kerrs Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Kerrs Creek is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerrs Creek
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Big Island, see our County-by-County Page for Big Island.
Cemeteries Near Big Island ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Island.
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 Big Island - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Big Island covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Sharon Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Ivy Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Turpin Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Harris Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ebenezer UMC Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebenezer UMC Cemetery
- The Ebenezer UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Ebenezer Church Cemetery
- Ebenezer Methodist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #51521 <2>
- Old Ebenezer Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- St. Thomas Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hudson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Fletcher Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Gatewood Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Roberts Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Salling Family Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (215 more) ...
- Glasgow Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Tolley Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Coffee Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Big Island had a population of 218 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Big Island, with the one closest to Big Island listed first.
- Major
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Major is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Major
- Waugh
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Waugh is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Coleman Falls
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
- Pearch
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pearch is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearch
- Sedalia
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Sedalia is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
- Charlemont
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Charlemont is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlemont
- Snowden
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Snowden is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowden
- Pedlar Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Curtis
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Curtis is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis
- Coffee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Coffee is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee
- Boonsboro
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
- Abert
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Abert is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Salt Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Salt Creek is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Creek
- Cifax
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Perrowville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Perrowville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrowville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Big Island. See our List of 1890's Communities around Big Island.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Big Island ...
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 98 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Island.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Big Island. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Big Island and those printed in the larger area surrounding Big Island.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4> of Big Island.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Big Island:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Bedford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alleghany County
- Amherst County
- Appomattox County
- Augusta County
- Bedford City
- Botetourt County
- Buena Vista City
- Campbell County
- Lexington City
- Lynchburg City
- Nelson County
- Pittsylvania County
- Rockbridge 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 Big Island, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Big Island) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |