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 Chesswood (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 Chesswood. 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 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.
Chesswood is located in Chesterfield 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 Chesterfield County: Amelia, Charles City, Dinwiddie, Henrico, Hopewell City, Prince George & Richmond.
Below are the counties that are near Chesswood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Chesswood:
- Chesterfield County (The home county of Chesswood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chesswood, with the one closest to Chesswood listed first.
- Centralia
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Centralia is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
- Beulah Village
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Beulah Village is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah Village
- Chesterfield Court House
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Drewrys Bluff
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Drewrys Bluff is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drewrys Bluff
- Bellwood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bellwood is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
- Chester
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bensley Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Bensley Village is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bensley Village
- Ampt Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Ampt Hill is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ampt Hill
- Bensley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bensley is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bensley
- Fendley ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Fendley is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fendley
- Meadowville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Meadowville is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowville
- Chesterfield Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Chesterfield Village is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield Village
- Amelia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chesswood, with the one closest to Chesswood listed first.
- Ammon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ammon is located in Amelia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ammon
- Masons Corner
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Masons Corner is located in Amelia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masons Corner
- Earls
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Earls is located in Amelia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earls
- Amelia Court House
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Lodore
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Lodore is located in Amelia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodore
- Charles City County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chesswood, with the one closest to Chesswood listed first.
- Kimages
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Kimages is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimages
- Roxbury
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Roxbury is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
- Westover
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Westover is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Charles City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Ruthville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ruthville is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthville
- Colonial Heights City
- Colonial Heights
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Dinwiddie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chesswood, with the one closest to Chesswood listed first.
- Addison
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Addison is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Grant Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Grant Village is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Village
- Maitland Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Maitland Village is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maitland Village
- Sutherland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Rowanta
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Rowanta is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowanta
- Hebron
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hebron is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Waldemar ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Waldemar is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldemar
- Laird ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Laird is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laird
- Borthwick ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Borthwick is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borthwick
- Wilsons
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wilsons is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsons
- Darvills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Darvills is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darvills
- Goochland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chesswood, with the one closest to Chesswood listed first.
- Oilville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Thorncliff
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Thorncliff is located in Goochland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorncliff
- Maidens
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Goochland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hanover County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chesswood, with the one closest to Chesswood listed first.
- Mechanicsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Atlee Station
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Atlee Station is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlee Station
- Westwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Westwood is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Gwathmey
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Gwathmey is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gwathmey
- Hylas
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Hylas is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hylas
- Ashland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Rockville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Casco
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Casco is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casco
- Hanover
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Goodall
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Goodall is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodall
- Vontay
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Vontay is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vontay
- Taylorsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Taylorsville is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorsville
- Henrico County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chesswood, with the one closest to Chesswood listed first.
- Varina Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Varina Grove is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varina Grove
- Oakland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Oakland is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Varina
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Varina is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varina
- Deep Bottom
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Deep Bottom is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Bottom
- Fort Lee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fort Lee is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lee
- Montrose
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Montrose is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Turner Woods
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Turner Woods is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner Woods
- Heckler Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Heckler Village is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heckler Village
- Oak Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Oak Hill is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Lee Park
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lee Park is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Park
- Sandston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- East Highland Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- East Highland Park is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Highland Park
- Hopewell City
- Hopewell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- King William County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chesswood, with the one closest to Chesswood listed first.
- Enfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Enfield is located in King William County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
- Manquin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- New Kent County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chesswood, with the one closest to Chesswood listed first.
- Tunstall
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Tunstall is located in New Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunstall
- New Kent
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Nottoway County
- Spainville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Spainville is located in Nottoway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spainville
- Petersburg City
- Petersburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Powhatan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chesswood, with the one closest to Chesswood listed first.
- Huguenot
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Huguenot is located in Powhatan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huguenot
- Dorset
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Dorset is located in Powhatan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorset
- Pilkinton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Pilkinton is located in Powhatan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilkinton
- Michaux
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Michaux is located in Powhatan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michaux
- Beaumont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Beaumont is located in Powhatan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaumont
- Belona
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Belona is located in Powhatan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belona
- Prince George County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chesswood, with the one closest to Chesswood listed first.
- Garysville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Garysville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garysville
- Derby ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Derby is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
- Newville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Newville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
- Burrowsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Burrowsville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrowsville
- Talpa ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Talpa is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talpa
- Richmond City
- The following are listed by their distance from Chesswood, with the one closest to Chesswood listed first.
- Richmond
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Montrose Heights
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Montrose Heights is located in Richmond City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose Heights
- Richmond County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chesswood, with the one closest to Chesswood listed first.
- Walmsley Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Walmsley Village is located in Richmond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walmsley Village
- Cherry Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Cherry Gardens is located in Richmond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Gardens
- Chippenham Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Chippenham Village is located in Richmond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippenham Village
- Surry County
- Claremont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Claremont is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
- Sussex County
- Stony Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Chesswood, see our County-by-County Page for Chesswood.
Cemeteries Near Chesswood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chesswood.
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 Chesswood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Chesswood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Chesswood, with the one closest to Chesswood listed first.
- Centralia Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Salem Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Old Lane Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Sunset Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Perdue Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cary Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Brown Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hopewell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Dale Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mt. Gilead Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mt. Minnis Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (272 more) ...
- Vaughan - Eyler Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ft. Harrison National Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- St. James Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
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 Chesswood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Chesswood.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Chesswood, with the one closest to Chesswood listed first.
- Centralia
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Centralia is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
- Chesterfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Chester
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Drewrys Bluff
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Drewrys Bluff is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drewrys Bluff
- Fendley ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Fendley is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fendley
- Walthall
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Walthall is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walthall
- Varina Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Varina Grove is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varina Grove
- Meadowville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Meadowville is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowville
- Perdue ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Perdue is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perdue
- Holly ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Holly is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly
- Cotman ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Cotman is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotman
- Matoaca
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Matoaca is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaca
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Ettrick
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bon Air
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Lee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fort Lee is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lee
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Chesswood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Chesswood.
Newspapers Published in Chesswood ...
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 8 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chesswood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Chesswood, there are papers which were published within 2 miles [3.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Chesswood.
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 Chesswood:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Chesterfield County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Amelia County
- Charles City County
- Colonial Heights City
- Dinwiddie County
- Goochland County
- Hanover County
- Henrico County
- Hopewell City
- King William County
- New Kent County
- Nottoway County
- Petersburg City
- Powhatan County
- Prince George County
- Richmond City
- Richmond County
- Surry County
- Sussex 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> | 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- Chesswood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Chesswood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |