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 Birmingham (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 Birmingham. 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 and doctors 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.
Birmingham 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 Birmingham. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Birmingham:
- Tazewell County (The home county of Birmingham)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Richlands
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Steeleburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Steeleburg is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steeleburg
- Raven
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Raven is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven
- Cedar Bluff
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Claypool Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Claypool Hill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claypool Hill
- Red Ash
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Red Ash is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Ash
- Paintlick
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Paintlick is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paintlick
- Pounding Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Harman
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Harman is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harman
- Maxwell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Maxwell is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Dunford Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Dunford Village is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunford Village
- Pisgah
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Pisgah is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Sayersville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sayersville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayersville
- Buchanan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Bearwallow
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Bearwallow is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Rowe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Rowe is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe
- Mavisdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mavisdale is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mavisdale
- Height
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Height is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
- Peapatch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Peapatch is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
- Council
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Council is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
- Janey
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Janey is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janey
- Jackson Flats
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Jackson Flats is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
- Paynesville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Paynesville is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Matney
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Matney is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matney
- Leemaster
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Leemaster is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemaster
- Vansant
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Royal City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Royal City is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal City
- Dickenson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Carrie
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Carrie is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrie
- Bucu
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Bucu is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucu
- Aily
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Aily is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aily
- Haysi
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Nora
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Nora is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora
- Clinchco
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Tarpon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Tarpon is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarpon
- Russell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Dye
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Dye is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dye
- Honaker
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Russell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Russell is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Barnett
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Barnett is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnett
- Elk Garden
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Elk Garden is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Garden
- Artrip
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Artrip is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artrip
- Lebanon
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Spring City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Spring City is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring City
- Cleveland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cleveland is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Jessees Mill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jessees Mill is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jessees Mill
- Kiser ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kiser is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiser
- Carterton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Carterton is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carterton
- Creswell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Creswell is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creswell
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Cardwell Town
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Cardwell Town is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardwell Town
- Allison Gap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Allison Gap is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allison Gap
- Broadford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Broadford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
- Saltville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Ellendale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ellendale is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Chilhowie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Seven Mile Ford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Seven Mile Ford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Mile Ford
- Adwolf
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Adwolf is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adwolf
- Marion
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Carmel
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Atkins
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sugar Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Clinchburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Clinchburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinchburg
- Fleet
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Glade Spring
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Lindell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Lindell is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindell
- Glenford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Glenford is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenford
- Brumley Gap
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Brumley Gap is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brumley Gap
- Friendship
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Friendship is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Loves Mill
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Loves Mill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loves Mill
- Lowland
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Lowland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowland
- Lodi
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lodi is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Holston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Holston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holston
- Abingdon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Abingdon is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,856 people
- Greendale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Greendale is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale
- Wise County
- Saint Paul
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pike County (KY)
- Paw Paw
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Paw Paw is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paw Paw
- McDowell County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Height
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Height is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
- Peapatch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Peapatch is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
- Bishop
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bishop is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Newhall
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Newhall is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhall
- War
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- War is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War
- Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
- Jackson Flats
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Jackson Flats is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
- Paynesville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Paynesville is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Yukon
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Yukon is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yukon
- Bradshaw
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Avondale
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Avondale is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale
- Union City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Union City is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
- Gary
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Gary is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
- Iaeger
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Iaeger is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iaeger
- Population from the 2020 Census: 232 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Birmingham, see our County-by-County Page for Birmingham.
Cemeteries Near Birmingham ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Birmingham.
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 Birmingham - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Birmingham covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Clinch Valley Memorial Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Hankins Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Thomas J. Horton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Green Hills Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Ferrell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- White Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mutter Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Bradshaw Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Barnett Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Lester Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Brown Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Ball Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (879 more) ...
- Robinson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- White Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Settle Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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>
While we didn't find Birmingham in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Birmingham.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Birmingham, with the one closest to Birmingham listed first.
- Richlands
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Doran
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Steeleburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Steeleburg is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steeleburg
- Clifton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Clifton is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Cedar Bluff
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Pounding Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Swords Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Belfast
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Belfast is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfast
- Gillespie
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Gillespie is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillespie
- Harman
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Harman is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harman
- Pleasant Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Honaker
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Rosedale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rosedale is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
- Maxwell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Maxwell is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Gap Store
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Gap Store is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gap Store
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Birmingham. See our List of 1890's Communities around Birmingham.
Newspapers Published in Birmingham ...
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 15 newspapers that have been published in the area around Birmingham.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Birmingham, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Birmingham.
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 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 Birmingham:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Tazewell County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Buchanan County
- Dickenson County
- Russell County
- Smyth County
- Washington County
- Wise County
- Pike County
- McDowell 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 Birmingham, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Birmingham) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |