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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 Brownsburg (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 Brownsburg. 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 Brownsburg ...

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 have occurred.

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.

Brownsburg is located in Rockbridge County.

To see how the shape of Virginia's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Rockbridge County: Alleghany, Amherst, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt & Nelson.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Brownsburg ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brownsburg.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • New Providence Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Providence Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Providence Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairfield Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McDowell Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McDowell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McDowell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Immanuel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Immanuel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Spring Valley Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Herman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Herman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Herman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Timber Ridge Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Timber Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Timber Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Stony Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stony Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stony Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bethany Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethany Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethany Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Irish Creek Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Irish Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Irish Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Little River Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Little River Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Little River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (141 more) ...
    • Chestnut Grove Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chestnut Grove Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chestnut Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Clarks Mtn. Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clarks Mtn. Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clarks Mtn. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Haines Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Haines Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Haines Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Brownsburg had a population of 237 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Decatur
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Decatur have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
    • Decatur is located in Rockbridge County
  • Fairfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Davis
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Davis. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
    • Davis is located in Rockbridge County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Davis
    • From Brownsburg to Davis
  • Raphine
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raphine have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raphine
    • Raphine is located in Rockbridge County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Raphine <2>
  • Zack
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zack have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zack
    • Zack is located in Rockbridge County
  • Timber Ridge
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Timber Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Ridge
    • Timber Ridge is located in Rockbridge County
  • Marlbrook
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Midvale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Midvale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
    • Midvale is located in Rockbridge County
  • Vesuvius
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vesuvius have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesuvius
    • Vesuvius is located in Rockbridge County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vesuvius <2>
  • Steeles Tavern
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Spottswood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Cornwall
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cornwall have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
    • Cornwall is located in Rockbridge County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Irish Creek
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irish Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irish Creek
      • Irish Creek is located in Rockbridge County
    • Lofton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lofton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lofton
      • Lofton is located in Augusta County
    • Riverside
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Riverside. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
      • Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Riverside
      • From Brownsburg to Riverside

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

Newspapers Published in Brownsburg ...

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 75 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brownsburg.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Brownsburg, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Brownsburg.

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 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 Brownsburg:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Brownsburg. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Rockbridge County: www.co.rockbridge.va.us/

The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<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- Brownsburg) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Brownsburg. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9286, Longitude: -79.3192    
<5>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.
<6>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 Brownsburg, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025