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 Otter Mill (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 Otter Mill. 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 Otter Mill ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Big Otter Mill: Big Otter Ml. (or less commonly used: Big Otter Mll.)
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 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 Otter Mill 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 Otter Mill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Big Otter Mill:
- Bedford County (The home county of Big Otter Mill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Otter Mill, with the one closest to Big Otter Mill listed first.
- Peaksville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Lowry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Cifax
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Goode
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bellevue
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bellevue is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Joppa Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
- Forest
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Coonsville ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coonsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
- Waugh
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Waugh is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Montvale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Boonsboro
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
- Coleman Falls
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
- Davis Mill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Davis Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Mill
- Amherst County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Otter Mill, with the one closest to Big Otter Mill listed first.
- Pedlar Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Winesap
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Winesap is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Pleasant View
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Madison Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Allwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Allwood is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
- Joshua Falls
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Joshua Falls is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joshua Falls
- Coolwell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Coolwell is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
- Forks of Buffalo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
- Sweet Briar Station
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
- Monitor
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Monitor is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- Sandidges
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sandidges is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
- Amherst
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Alto
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Alto is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Botetourt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Otter Mill, with the one closest to Big Otter Mill listed first.
- Buchanan
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lithia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Rocky Point
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
- Blue Ridge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Springwood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Botetourt ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Laymantown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Laymantown is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laymantown
- Salt Petre Cave
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Troutville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Salisbury
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Apple Tree Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Apple Tree Village is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Tree Village
- Fincastle
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Amsterdam
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Amsterdam is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsterdam
- Buena Vista City
- Buena Vista
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Otter Mill, with the one closest to Big Otter Mill listed first.
- Powhatan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Powhatan is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
- Timberlake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Bedford Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Lawyers
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Lawyers is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
- Leesville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Leesville is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Lynch Station
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lynch Station is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Station
- Yellow Branch
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
- Altavista
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rustburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Mount Athos ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Mount Athos is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Athos
- Gladys
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- 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
- Concord
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Otter Mill, with the one closest to Big Otter Mill listed first.
- Hales Ford ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hales Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Ford
- Westlake Corner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Westlake Corner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake Corner
- North Shore
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- North Shore is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shore
- Burnt Chimney
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Burnt Chimney is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Chimney
- Felicia ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Felicia is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felicia
- Union Hall
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Penhook
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Villa ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Villa is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa
- Redwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Redwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Lexington City
- Lexington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Lynchburg City
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Otter Mill, with the one closest to Big Otter Mill listed first.
- Woodbine Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Lavino Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Lynchburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Pittsylvania County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Otter Mill, with the one closest to Big Otter Mill listed first.
- Hurt
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- Pittsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Pittsville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsville
- Brutus
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brutus is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brutus
- Roanoke City
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Otter Mill, with the one closest to Big Otter Mill listed first.
- Buena Vista
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Buena Vista is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Garden City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Roanoke
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Roanoke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Otter Mill, with the one closest to Big Otter Mill listed first.
- Montgomery Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Montgomery Village is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
- Vinton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Hollins
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Hanging Rock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Hanging Rock is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanging Rock
- Cave Spring
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Cave Spring is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
- Mason Cove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Mason Cove is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Cove
- Rockbridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Otter Mill, with the one closest to Big Otter Mill listed first.
- Greenlee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Natural Bridge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Springfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Springfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Glasgow
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Red Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
- Fancy Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Buffalo Forge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Zollman ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
- East Lexington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
- Riverside
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Salem City
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Otter Mill, with the one closest to Big Otter Mill listed first.
- Sunset Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Sunset Village is located in Salem City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Salem
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Big Otter Mill, see our County-by-County Page for Big Otter Mill.
Cemeteries Near Big Otter Mill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Otter Mill.
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 Otter Mill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Big Otter Mill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Big Otter Mill, with the one closest to Big Otter Mill listed first.
- Longwood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Otey Street Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Fairmount Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Mountain Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Coffee Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- St. Thomas Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Rose Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Massie Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Turpin Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ebenezer UMC Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- 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 <3>
- Old Ebenezer Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Tate Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (442 more) ...
- Norwood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- North Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Grange Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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 Big Otter Mill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Big Otter Mill.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Big Otter Mill, with the one closest to Big Otter Mill listed first.
- Otterville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Otterville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otterville
- Peaksville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Bedford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Lowry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Cifax
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Thaxton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Thaxton is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thaxton
- Goode
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Curtis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Curtis is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis
- Bellevue
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bellevue is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Charlemont
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Charlemont is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlemont
- Sedalia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sedalia is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
- Reba
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Reba is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reba
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Robertsons ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Robertsons is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robertsons
- Bunker Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Bunker Hill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
- Perrowville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- 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 Otter Mill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Big Otter Mill.
Newspapers Published in Big Otter Mill ...
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 20 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Otter Mill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Otter Mill, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Otter Mill.
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 either 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 Otter Mill:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Bedford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Amherst County
- Bedford City
- Botetourt County
- Buena Vista City
- Campbell County
- Franklin County
- Lexington City
- Lynchburg City
- Pittsylvania County
- Roanoke City
- Roanoke County
- Rockbridge County
- Salem City
- 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Big Otter Mill) 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 Big Otter Mill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |