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 Vein (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 Vein. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
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 north 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 Vein is located in Tazewell 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 Tazewell County: Bland, Buchanan, Russell, Smyth, McDowell (WV) & Mercer (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Big Vein. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Big Vein:
- Tazewell County (The home county of Big Vein)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Vein, with the one closest to Big Vein listed first.
- Pocahontas
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
- Boissevain
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Boissevain is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boissevain
- Yards
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Yards is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Falls Mills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Saint Clair
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- Bluefield
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Abbs Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Abbs Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
- Springville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Springville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Shawver Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
- Wittens Mills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
- Little Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Little Town is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
- Bishop
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bishop is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Five Oaks
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Five Oaks is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Oaks
- Bland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Vein, with the one closest to Big Vein listed first.
- Rocky Gap
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Hicksville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Bastian
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Round Bottom
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Round Bottom is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
- Bland
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Mechanicsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
- Buchanan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Vein, with the one closest to Big Vein listed first.
- Bearwallow
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Bearwallow is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Peapatch
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Peapatch is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
- Height
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Height is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
- Jackson Flats
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Jackson Flats is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
- Paynesville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Paynesville is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Giles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Vein, with the one closest to Big Vein listed first.
- Glen Lyn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Glen Lyn is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Lyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Shumate
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Shumate is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
- Lurich
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Lurich is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich
- Rich Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Narrows
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Vein, with the one closest to Big Vein listed first.
- Ellendale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ellendale is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Atkins
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Broadford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Broadford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Vein, with the one closest to Big Vein listed first.
- Rural Retreat
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Wytheville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Crockett
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Kent
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Logan County (WV)
- Rich Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Rich Creek is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
- McDowell County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Vein, with the one closest to Big Vein listed first.
- Anawalt
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Anawalt is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
- Elkhorn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Elkhorn is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
- Kyle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Kyle is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
- Keystone
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Northfork
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Thorpe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Thorpe is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorpe
- Gary
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gary is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
- Big Four
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Big Four is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Four
- Kimball
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bishop
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bishop is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Newhall
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Newhall is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhall
- Welch
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Welch is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,575 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welch <1>
- War
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- War is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War
- Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
- Mercer County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Vein, with the one closest to Big Vein listed first.
- Nemours
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Yards
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Yards is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Coopers
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Coopers is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
- Bramwell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Freeman
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Freeman is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Coaldale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Coaldale is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Flipping
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Flipping is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
- Montcalm
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Montcalm is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcalm
- Bluefield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Littlesburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Littlesburg is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
- Weyanoke
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Weyanoke is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyanoke
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Matoaka
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Matoaka is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
- Raleigh County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Vein, with the one closest to Big Vein listed first.
- Rhodell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Rhodell is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
- Eastgulf
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Eastgulf is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastgulf
- Helen
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Helen is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen
- Ury
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Ury is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ury
- Princewick
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Princewick is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princewick
- Stotesbury
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Stotesbury is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stotesbury
- Coal City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Coal City is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Slab Fork
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Slab Fork is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab Fork
- Sophia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Sullivan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Sullivan is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
- Glen White
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Glen White is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen White
- Lester
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Lester is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 312 people
- Pemberton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Pemberton is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
- Summers County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Vein, with the one closest to Big Vein listed first.
- Pipestem
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mercers Saltworks ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mercers Saltworks is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercers Saltworks
- True
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- True is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True
- Wyoming County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Vein, with the one closest to Big Vein listed first.
- Bud
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Bud is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
- Mullens
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Woosley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Woosley is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woosley
- Mullensville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mullensville is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullensville
- Pineville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fanny
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Fanny is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanny
- Wyoming
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Wyoming is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
- Keyrock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Keyrock is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyrock
- Rock View
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Rock View is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock View
- Stoneville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Stoneville is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneville
- Baileysville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Baileysville is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileysville
- Turkey
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Turkey is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey
- Clear Fork
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clear Fork is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Fork
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Big Vein, see our County-by-County Page for Big Vein.
Cemeteries Near Big Vein ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Vein.
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 Vein - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Big Vein covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Big Vein, with the one closest to Big Vein listed first.
- Bowman Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Rutherford Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Bryant Memorial Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Pocahontas Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Mohawk Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mohawk Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mohawk Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mohawk Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Music Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Swim Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Wagner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Perdus Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Continue List (463 more) ...
- Wagner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Dudley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Tabor Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 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.<2>
While we didn't find Big Vein in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Big Vein.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Big Vein, with the one closest to Big Vein listed first.
- Pocahontas
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
- Falls Mills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Coopers
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Coopers is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
- Abbs Valley ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Abbs Valley is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
- Freeman
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Freeman is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Bramwell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Clair
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- Coaldale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Coaldale is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Bailey
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Bailey is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Switchback
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Switchback is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Switchback
- Ennis
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Ennis is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennis
- Flipping
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Flipping is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Maybeury
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Elkhorn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Elkhorn is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
- Duhring
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Duhring is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duhring
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Big Vein. See our List of 1890's Communities around Big Vein.
Newspapers Published in Big Vein ...
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 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Vein.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Vein, 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 Big Vein.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Vein:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Tazewell County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bland County
- Buchanan County
- Giles County
- Smyth County
- Wythe County
- Logan County
- McDowell County
- Mercer County
- Raleigh County
- Summers County
- Wyoming 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> | 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 Vein, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 Vein) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |