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 Buford (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 Buford. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Buford is located in Pittsylvania 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 Pittsylvania County: Caswell (NC), Rockingham (NC), Bedford, Campbell, Franklin, Halifax & Henry.
Below are the counties that are near Buford. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Buford:
- Pittsylvania County (The home county of Buford)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buford, with the one closest to Buford listed first.
- Mount Cross
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Cross is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cross
- Cascade
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cascade is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
- Ridgecrest
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgecrest is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgecrest
- Swansonville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Swansonville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swansonville
- Kentuck
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Kentuck is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Grady
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Grady is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Tightsqueeze
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tightsqueeze is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tightsqueeze
- Weal
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Weal is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weal
- Worlds
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Worlds is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worlds
- Chatham
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Chatham is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,413 people
- Spring Garden
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Garden is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Laurel Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Laurel Grove is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Grove
- Transco Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Transco Village is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transco Village
- Danville City
- Danville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Buford, with the one closest to Buford listed first.
- Laprades Mill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Laprades Mill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laprades Mill
- Sydnorsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sydnorsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydnorsville
- Penhook
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Henry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Halifax County
- The following are listed by their distance from Buford, with the one closest to Buford listed first.
- Sutherlin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Sutherlin is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherlin
- Delila
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Delila is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delila
- Elmo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Elmo is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmo
- Alton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Jones
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Jones is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
- Sign Rock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sign Rock is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sign Rock
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Buford, with the one closest to Buford listed first.
- Sandy Level
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Sandy Level is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Level
- Axton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Irisburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Irisburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irisburg
- Laurel Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Laurel Park is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
- Leatherwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Leatherwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Chatmoss
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Chatmoss is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatmoss
- Ridgeway
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Villa Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Villa Heights is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Heights
- Collinsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Horse Pasture
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Horse Pasture is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Pasture
- Fieldale
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Reed Creek Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Reed Creek Village is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed Creek Village
- Preston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Preston is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Madison County
- Beaver Park
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Beaver Park is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Park
- Martinsville City
- Martinsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Patrick County
- Stella
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Stella is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Alamance County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buford, with the one closest to Buford listed first.
- Altamahaw
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Altamahaw is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamahaw
- Clover Garden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Clover Garden is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Garden
- Union Ridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Union Ridge is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Ridge
- Ossipee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Ossipee is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ossipee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 593 people
- McCray
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- McCray is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCray
- Pleasant Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Birchwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Birchwood is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood
- Green Acres
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Green Acres is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Lakeview
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lakeview is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Just Crossroads
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Just Crossroads is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Just Crossroads
- British Acres
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- British Acres is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for British Acres
- Carolina
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Carolina is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina
- Glencoe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Glencoe is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glencoe
- Caswell County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buford, with the one closest to Buford listed first.
- Whitetown
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Whitetown is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitetown
- Pelham
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Pelham is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Gatewood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Gatewood is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatewood
- Bethel
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Providence
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Providence is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Quick
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Quick is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quick
- Blanch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- West Yanceyville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- West Yanceyville is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yanceyville
- Locust Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Locust Hill is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Ashland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Ashland is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Yanceyville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Estelle
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Estelle is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
- Milton
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Guilford County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buford, with the one closest to Buford listed first.
- Browns Summit
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Scalesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Scalesville is located in Guilford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalesville
- Rudd
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Rudd is located in Guilford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudd
- Orange County (NC)
- Carr
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Carr is located in Orange County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carr
- Person County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buford, with the one closest to Buford listed first.
- Concord
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Concord is located in Person County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Ceffo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Ceffo is located in Person County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceffo
- Rockingham County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buford, with the one closest to Buford listed first.
- Ruffin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Draper ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Draper is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draper
- Meadow Summit
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Meadow Summit is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Summit
- Lawsonville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Lawsonville is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
- Eden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Eden is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,867 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eden <1>
- Spray ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Spray is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spray
- College Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- College Village is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Village
- Fairview
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Fairview is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Providence
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Providence is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Wentworth
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wentworth is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wentworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,734 people
- Belmont
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Belmont is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Norwood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Norwood is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Reidsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Stokes County (NC)
- Amostown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Amostown is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amostown
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Buford, see our County-by-County Page for Buford.
Cemeteries Near Buford ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Buford.
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 Buford - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Buford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Buford, with the one closest to Buford listed first.
- Moss Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Soyar Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Hickory Grove UMC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Scearce Gammon Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Berry Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mayfield MB Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Stokesland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Danville Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Happy Home Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Schoolfield Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ruffin Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View Cemetery
- The Mountain View Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mt. View Cemetery
- Continue List (337 more) ...
- Mt. View Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Dan View Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Ruffin - Stacey Baptist Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Buford had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Buford, with the one closest to Buford listed first.
- Oak Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Oak Hill is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Vandola
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Vandola is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandola
- Bachelors Hall
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Bachelors Hall is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bachelors Hall
- Mayfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Mayfield is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
- Brosville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Brosville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brosville
- Pelham
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Pelham is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Mount Cross
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Cross is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cross
- Vance
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Vance is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
- Cascade
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cascade is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
- Ruffin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Gatewood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Gatewood is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatewood
- Blackwell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Blackwell is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwell
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Whitmell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Whitmell is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitmell
- Aiken Summit
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Aiken Summit is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aiken Summit
- Pleasant Gap
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Gap is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Gap
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Buford. See our List of 1890's Communities around Buford.
Newspapers Published in Buford ...
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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Buford.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Buford, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Buford.
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 Buford:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Pittsylvania County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Danville City
- Franklin County
- Halifax County
- Henry County
- Madison County
- Martinsville City
- Patrick County
- Alamance County
- Caswell County
- Guilford County
- Orange County
- Person County
- Rockingham County
- Stokes 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 Buford, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Buford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |