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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 Briarwood (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 Briarwood. 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 hospitals 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.

Briarwood is located in Augusta 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 Augusta County: Albemarle, Bath, Highland, Nelson, Rockbridge, Rockingham & Pendleton (WV).

Below are the counties that are near Briarwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Briarwood:

  • Augusta County     (The home county of Briarwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarwood, with the one closest to Briarwood listed first.
    • Brand
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Brand is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brand
    • Fishersville
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jolivue
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jolivue is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jolivue
    • Stuarts Draft
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Verona
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Lipscomb
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Lipscomb is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lipscomb
    • Lyndhurst
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Dooms
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Dooms is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooms
    • Crimora
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Arbor Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Arbor Hill is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbor Hill
    • Sampson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Sampson is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampson
    • Sherando
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Sherando is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherando
  • Albemarle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarwood, with the one closest to Briarwood listed first.
    • Foothill Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Foothill Village is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foothill Village
    • Yancey Mills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Yancey Mills is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancey Mills
    • Crozet
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Batesville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Mountfair
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Mountfair is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountfair
    • White Hall
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • White Hall is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
    • Decca ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Decca is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decca
    • Ivy
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Covesville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Covesville is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covesville
    • North Garden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Boonesville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Boonesville is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonesville
    • Free Union
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
  • Amherst County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarwood, with the one closest to Briarwood listed first.
    • Alto
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Alto is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
    • Lowesville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Bath County
    • Yost
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Yost is located in Bath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yost
  • Charlottesville City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarwood, with the one closest to Briarwood listed first.
    • Charlottesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Belmont
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Belmont is located in Charlottesville City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
    • Locust Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Locust Grove is located in Charlottesville City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarwood, with the one closest to Briarwood listed first.
    • Cedarmere ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Cedarmere is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
    • Amicus
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Amicus is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amicus
  • Harrisonburg City
    • Harrisonburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Highland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarwood, with the one closest to Briarwood listed first.
    • Palo Alto
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Palo Alto is located in Highland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palo Alto
    • McDowell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Nelson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarwood, with the one closest to Briarwood listed first.
    • Afton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Onan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Onan is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onan
    • Durrett Town
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Durrett Town is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durrett Town
    • Greenfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Greenfield is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
    • Lodebar
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Lodebar is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodebar
    • Nellysford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Adial
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Adial is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adial
    • Tyro
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Bryant
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Bryant is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
    • Old Myndus
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Old Myndus is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Myndus
    • Jonesboro
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jonesboro is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
    • Massies Mill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Massies Mill is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massies Mill
  • Rockbridge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarwood, with the one closest to Briarwood listed first.
    • Davis
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Davis is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
    • Brownsburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Fairfield is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
    • Marlbrook
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Marlbrook is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlbrook
    • Goshen
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Riverside
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
  • Rockingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarwood, with the one closest to Briarwood listed first.
    • Mount Crawford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • North River
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • North River is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North River
    • Bridgewater
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Goods Mill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Goods Mill is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goods Mill
    • Cross Keys
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Spring Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Spring Creek is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
    • Dayton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Dayton is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,642 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dayton <1>
    • Massanetta Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Massanetta Springs is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massanetta Springs
    • Montevideo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Montevideo is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montevideo
    • Briery Branch
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Briery Branch is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briery Branch
    • Ottobine
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Ottobine is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottobine
    • McGaheysville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Staunton City
    • Staunton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Waynesboro City
    • Waynesboro
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Briarwood, see our County-by-County Page for Briarwood.

Cemeteries Near Briarwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Briarwood.

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 Briarwood - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Briarwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Briarwood, with the one closest to Briarwood listed first.

  • Croft Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Marine Baptist Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Augusta Memorial Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Belmont Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Staunton National Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Bethlehem Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Hospital Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Riverview Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Thornrose Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (310 more) ...
    • Old Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairview Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Fairview Cemetery is located in Waynesboro.
    • Hildebrand Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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 Briarwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Briarwood.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Briarwood, with the one closest to Briarwood listed first.

  • Brand
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Brand is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brand
  • Fishersville
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Barterbrook
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Barterbrook is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barterbrook
  • Annex
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Annex is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annex
  • Ladd
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Ladd is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladd
  • Folly Mills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Folly Mills is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folly Mills
  • Stuarts Draft
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Hermitage
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hermitage is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermitage
  • Laurel Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Laurel Hill is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
  • Mint Spring
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Mint Spring is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mint Spring
  • Lipscomb
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Lipscomb is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lipscomb
  • Lyndhurst
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Madrid
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Madrid is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrid
    • Verona
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Avis
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Avis is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avis

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Briarwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Briarwood.

Newspapers Published in Briarwood ...

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 106 newspapers that have been published in the area around Briarwood.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Briarwood, 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 Briarwood.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Briarwood:

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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Briarwood) 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 Briarwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.