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 Spring (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 Spring. 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 Spring ...
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 Spring: Big Spg. (or less commonly used: Big Spng. or Big Sprng.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Big Spring. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Big Spring.
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 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.
Big Spring is located in Page 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 Page County: Greene, Madison, Rappahannock, Rockingham, Shenandoah & Warren.
Below are the counties that are near Big Spring. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Big Spring:
- Page County (The home county of Big Spring)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Kimball
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kimball is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball
- Rileyville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Luray
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Leaksville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Leaksville is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaksville
- Marksville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Marksville is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marksville
- Stanley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Shenandoah
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Verbena
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Verbena is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbena
- Clarke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- White Post
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Waterloo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Waterloo is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
- Culpeper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Homeland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Homeland is located in Culpeper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homeland
- Eggbornsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Eggbornsville is located in Culpeper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eggbornsville
- Griffinsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Griffinsburg is located in Culpeper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffinsburg
- Salem
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Salem is located in Culpeper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Norman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Norman is located in Culpeper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
- Rixeyville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Rixeyville is located in Culpeper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rixeyville
- Jeffersonton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Jeffersonton is located in Culpeper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffersonton
- Culpeper
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Waylands Mill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Waylands Mill is located in Culpeper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waylands Mill
- Fauquier County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Petersburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Petersburg is located in Fauquier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Orlean
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Markham
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Waterloo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Waterloo is located in Fauquier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
- Ada
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Ada is located in Fauquier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
- Delaplane
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Turnbull
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Turnbull is located in Fauquier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbull
- Frederick County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Middletown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Tulip
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Tulip is located in Frederick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulip
- Mountain Falls
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Mountain Falls is located in Frederick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Falls
- Stephens City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fawcett Gap
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Fawcett Gap is located in Frederick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawcett Gap
- Armel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Armel is located in Frederick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armel
- Day - Mar Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Day - Mar Village is located in Frederick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Day - Mar Village
- Echo Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Echo Village is located in Frederick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Village
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Kinderhook
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Kinderhook is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinderhook
- Stanardsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Harrisonburg City
- Harrisonburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Peola Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Peola Mills is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peola Mills
- Syria
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Ruth
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Ruth is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Tryme
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Tryme is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tryme
- Hood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Madison
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Wolftown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Aroda
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Aroda is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aroda
- Radiant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Radiant is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radiant
- Rappahannock County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Sperryville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rediviva
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Rediviva is located in Rappahannock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rediviva
- Washington
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Woodville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Woodville is located in Rappahannock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Chester Gap
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Chester Gap is located in Rappahannock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Gap
- Scrabble
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Scrabble is located in Rappahannock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scrabble
- Reager
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Reager is located in Rappahannock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reager
- Slate Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Slate Mills is located in Rappahannock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Mills
- Amissville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Rockingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Plains Mill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Plains Mill is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plains Mill
- Timberville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Mayland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mayland is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayland
- Broadway
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Lacey Spring
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lacey Spring is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey Spring
- Daphna
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Daphna is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daphna
- Cootes Store
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Cootes Store is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cootes Store
- Tunis
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Tunis is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunis
- Elkton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Turleytown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Turleytown is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turleytown
- Melrose
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Melrose is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Cherry Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Cherry Grove is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Grove
- Shenandoah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Seven Fountains
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Seven Fountains is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Fountains
- Edinburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Willow Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Willow Grove is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Grove
- Woodstock
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Jackson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Dilbeck
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Dilbeck is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilbeck
- Calvary
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Calvary is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary
- Rinkerton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Rinkerton is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rinkerton
- Maurertown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- New Market
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Columbia Furnace
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Columbia Furnace is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia Furnace
- Mount Clifton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Mount Clifton is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Clifton
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Overall
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Overall is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overall
- Bentonville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Limeton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Limeton is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limeton
- Viscose City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Viscose City is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viscose City
- Front Royal
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Royal Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Royal Village is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Village
- Waterlick
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Waterlick is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterlick
- Riverton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Riverton is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
- Applewood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Applewood is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Applewood
- Cedarville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cedarville is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Happy Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Happy Creek is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Creek
- Reliance
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Reliance is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reliance
- Hardy County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Wardensville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Lost City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mathias
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Baker
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Baker is located in Hardy County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Big Spring, see our County-by-County Page for Big Spring.
Cemeteries Near Big Spring ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Spring.
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 Spring - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Big Spring covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Beahm's Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beahm's Chapel Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Beahm's Chapel Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the east of Luray.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #49373 <3>
- Rileyville Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Old County Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Green Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Furnace Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Antioch Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mt. Carmel Baptist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Marshall Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Munch Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Dry Run Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Continue List (297 more) ...
- Palmyra Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Woods Chapel Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Longs Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
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 Spring in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Big Spring.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Kimball
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kimball is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball
- Rileyville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Luray
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Compton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Compton is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Stony Man
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Stony Man is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Man
- Carmel
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Carmel is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel
- Leaksville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Leaksville is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaksville
- Ida
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Ida is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ida
- Bentonville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Seven Fountains
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Seven Fountains is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Fountains
- Marksville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Marksville is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marksville
- Willow Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Willow Grove is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Grove
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Edinburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hawkinstown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Hawkinstown is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkinstown
- Alma
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Alma is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Big Spring. See our List of 1890's Communities around Big Spring.
Newspapers Published in Big Spring ...
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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Spring.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Spring, 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 Big Spring.
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 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 Big Spring:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Page County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clarke County
- Culpeper County
- Fauquier County
- Frederick County
- Greene County
- Harrisonburg City
- Madison County
- Rappahannock County
- Rockingham County
- Shenandoah County
- Warren County
- Hardy 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Big Spring) 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 Spring, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |