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 Brightwell 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 Brightwell 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 Brightwell 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 Brightwell Mill: Brightwell Ml. (or less commonly used: Brightwell 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 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.
Brightwell Mill is located in Amherst 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 Amherst County: Appomattox, Bedford, Campbell, Lynchburg City, Nelson & Rockbridge.
Below are the counties that are near Brightwell Mill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Brightwell Mill:
- Amherst County (The home county of Brightwell Mill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brightwell Mill, with the one closest to Brightwell Mill listed first.
- Joshua Falls
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Joshua Falls is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joshua Falls
- Madison Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Coolwell
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Coolwell is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
- Winesap
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Winesap is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Sweet Briar Station
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
- Walkers Ford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Walkers Ford is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkers Ford
- Amherst
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Monitor
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Monitor is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- New Glasgow
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- New Glasgow is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Glasgow
- Pedlar Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Pleasant View
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Sandidges
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Sandidges is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
- Appomattox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brightwell Mill, with the one closest to Brightwell Mill listed first.
- Mineral ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mineral is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
- Beckham
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Beckham is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckham
- Spout Spring
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Spout Spring is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spout Spring
- Bent Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bent Creek is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
- Appomattox
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Mills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Mills is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Mills
- Chap
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Chap is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chap
- Evergreen
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Evergreen is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Hurtsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Hurtsville is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurtsville
- Pamplin City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brightwell Mill, with the one closest to Brightwell Mill listed first.
- Abert
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Abert is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
- Boonsboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
- Forest
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Coleman Falls
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
- Waugh
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Waugh is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Bellevue
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Bellevue is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Cifax
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Goode
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Lowry
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Peaksville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Buckingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brightwell Mill, with the one closest to Brightwell Mill listed first.
- Forbes ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Forbes is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbes
- Toga
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Toga is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toga
- Alcoma
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Alcoma is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcoma
- Mount Vinco
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Mount Vinco is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vinco
- Manteo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Manteo is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteo
- Andersonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Buckingham
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Enonville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Enonville is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enonville
- Axtell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Axtell is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axtell
- Glenmore
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Glenmore is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
- Buena Vista City
- Buena Vista
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brightwell Mill, with the one closest to Brightwell Mill listed first.
- Mount Athos ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Mount Athos is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Athos
- Concord
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Rustburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Powhatan
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Powhatan is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
- Lawyers
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lawyers is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
- Timberlake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Yellow Branch
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
- Mount Zion
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Mount Zion is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Bedford Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Gladys
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hat Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Hat Creek is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hat Creek
- Lynch Station
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lynch Station is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Station
- Charlotte County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brightwell Mill, with the one closest to Brightwell Mill listed first.
- Abell ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Abell is located in Charlotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abell
- Rough Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rough Creek is located in Charlotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rough Creek
- Phenix
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Phenix is located in Charlotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phenix
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Lynchburg City
- The following are listed by their distance from Brightwell Mill, with the one closest to Brightwell Mill listed first.
- Lynchburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lavino Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Woodbine Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Nelson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brightwell Mill, with the one closest to Brightwell Mill listed first.
- Gladstone
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Buffalo Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Buffalo Springs is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Springs
- Arrington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Colleen
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Colleen is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colleen
- Norwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Norwood is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Shipman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Shipman is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipman
- Jonesboro
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Jonesboro is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
- Massies Mill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Massies Mill is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massies Mill
- Bryant
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Bryant is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Warminster
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Warminster is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warminster
- Tyro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Old Myndus
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Old Myndus is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Myndus
- Pittsylvania County
- Hurt
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- 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>
- Prince Edward County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brightwell Mill, with the one closest to Brightwell Mill listed first.
- Five Forks
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Five Forks is located in Prince Edward County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
- Darlington Heights
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Darlington Heights is located in Prince Edward County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington Heights
- Rockbridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brightwell Mill, with the one closest to Brightwell Mill listed first.
- Glasgow
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Buffalo Forge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Greenlee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Riverside
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Fancy Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Natural Bridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Marlbrook
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Marlbrook is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlbrook
- Red Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
- Zollman ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Brightwell Mill, see our County-by-County Page for Brightwell Mill.
Cemeteries Near Brightwell Mill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brightwell 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 Brightwell Mill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Brightwell Mill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Brightwell Mill, with the one closest to Brightwell Mill listed first.
- Scott Zion Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Rose Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Lone Pine Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Beth Joseph Agudath Sholom Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mead Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Arch Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Morriss Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Campbell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- McIvor Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- New Hope Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Megginson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Feagans Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (181 more) ...
- Grace Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Carson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Trinity UMC Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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 Brightwell Mill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Brightwell Mill.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Brightwell Mill, with the one closest to Brightwell Mill listed first.
- Joshua Falls
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Joshua Falls is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joshua Falls
- Stapleton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Stapleton is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stapleton
- Mount Athos ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Mount Athos is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Athos
- Coolwell
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Coolwell is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
- Bocock
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bocock is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bocock
- Mineral ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mineral is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
- Walkers Ford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Walkers Ford is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkers Ford
- Concord
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Elon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Elon is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
- Oakville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Oakville is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Salt Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Salt Creek is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Creek
- Abert
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Abert is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Old Pilot ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Old Pilot is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Pilot
- Boonsboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
- Rustburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Brightwell Mill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Brightwell Mill.
Newspapers Published in Brightwell 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 108 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brightwell Mill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Brightwell Mill, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Brightwell Mill.
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 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 Brightwell Mill:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Amherst County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Appomattox County
- Bedford City
- Bedford County
- Buckingham County
- Buena Vista City
- Campbell County
- Charlotte County
- Lynchburg City
- Nelson County
- Pittsylvania County
- Prince Edward County
- Rockbridge 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 '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- Brightwell 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 Brightwell Mill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |