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 Ceres (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 Ceres. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Ceres is located in Bland 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 Bland County: Giles, Pulaski, Smyth, Tazewell, Wythe & Mercer (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Ceres. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ceres:
- Bland County (The home county of Ceres)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ceres, with the one closest to Ceres listed first.
- Bland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bastian
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hicksville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Rocky Gap
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Round Bottom
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Round Bottom is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
- Mechanicsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
- Buchanan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ceres, with the one closest to Ceres listed first.
- Bearwallow
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bearwallow is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Peapatch
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Peapatch is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ceres, with the one closest to Ceres listed first.
- Sheep Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
- Oak Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Shorts Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
- Grayson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ceres, with the one closest to Ceres listed first.
- Flat Ridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Flat Ridge is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Ridge
- Trout Dale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Elk Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bridle Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Rugby
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Rugby is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Independence
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Mouth-of-Wilson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Fries
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ceres, with the one closest to Ceres listed first.
- Atkins
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Carmel
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Ellendale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ellendale is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Marion
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sugar Grove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Broadford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Broadford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
- Adwolf
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Adwolf is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adwolf
- Seven Mile Ford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Seven Mile Ford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Mile Ford
- Chilhowie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Saltville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Allison Gap
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Allison Gap is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allison Gap
- Cardwell Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Cardwell Town is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardwell Town
- Tazewell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ceres, with the one closest to Ceres listed first.
- Little Town
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Little Town is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
- Shawver Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
- Asberrys
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Asberrys is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asberrys
- Tazewell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Springville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Springville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Five Oaks
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Five Oaks is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Oaks
- Wittens Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
- Thompson Valley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Thompson Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson Valley
- Pisgah
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Pisgah is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Saint Clair
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- Adria
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Adria is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adria
- Abbs Valley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Abbs Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
- Bluefield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ceres, with the one closest to Ceres listed first.
- Fleet
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Loves Mill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Loves Mill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loves Mill
- Glade Spring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Clinchburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Clinchburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinchburg
- Friendship
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Friendship is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Masada
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Masada is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masada
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ceres, with the one closest to Ceres listed first.
- Rural Retreat
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Crockett
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Wytheville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Rowe Crossroads
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
- Speedwell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Kent
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Fort Chiswell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
- Max Meadows
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Siloam
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Siloam is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Locust Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Ivanhoe
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Austinville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ashe County (NC)
- Grassy Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- McDowell County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ceres, with the one closest to Ceres listed first.
- Bishop
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bishop is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Anawalt
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Anawalt is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
- Newhall
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Newhall is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhall
- Elkhorn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Elkhorn is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
- Thorpe
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Thorpe is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorpe
- Gary
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Gary is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
- Kyle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Kyle is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
- War
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- War is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War
- Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
- Keystone
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Northfork
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Yukon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Yukon is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yukon
- Big Four
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Big Four is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Four
- Kimball
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Mercer County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ceres, with the one closest to Ceres listed first.
- Bluefield
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Nemours
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Yards
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Yards is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Bramwell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Coopers
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Coopers is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
- Freeman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Freeman is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Flipping
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Flipping is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
- Littlesburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Littlesburg is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
- Edison
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Edison is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- Coaldale
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Coaldale is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Montcalm
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Montcalm is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcalm
- El Centro ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- El Centro is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Centro
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ceres, see our County-by-County Page for Ceres.
Cemeteries Near Ceres ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ceres.
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 Ceres - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ceres covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ceres, with the one closest to Ceres listed first.
- Sharon Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Red Oak Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cooper Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Tilson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Floglesong Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Harmon Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Crabtree Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Shewey Cemetery
- The Shewey Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shewey Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #52125 <2>
- Houndshell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Burkes Garden Central Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Thompson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hubble Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (585 more) ...
- Earhart Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cregger Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Zion Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Ceres had a population of 39 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ceres, with the one closest to Ceres listed first.
- Burkes Garden
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Effna
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Effna is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Effna
- Groseclose
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Groseclose is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groseclose
- Summit
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Summit is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Gratton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gratton is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gratton
- Rural Retreat
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Shawver Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
- Chatham Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Chatham Hill is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham Hill
- Grapefield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Grapefield is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapefield
- Asberrys
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Asberrys is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asberrys
- Atkins
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cove Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Cove Creek is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Creek
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Springville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Springville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Crockett
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Grubb
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Grubb is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grubb
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ceres. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ceres.
Newspapers Published in Ceres ...
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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ceres.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ceres, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ceres.
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 Ceres:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Bland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Buchanan County
- Carroll County
- Grayson County
- Smyth County
- Tazewell County
- Washington County
- Wythe County
- Ashe County
- McDowell County
- Mercer 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 Ceres, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ceres) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |