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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 Clifton (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 Clifton. 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 hospitals 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.

Clifton is located in Fairfax 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 Fairfax County: Charles (MD), Montgomery (MD), Prince George's (MD), Arlington, Falls Church City, Loudoun & Prince William.

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

  • Fairfax County     (The home county of Clifton)
  • Alexandria City
  • Arlington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
    • Brandon Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Brandon Village is located in Arlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon Village
    • Garden City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Garden City is located in Arlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
    • Williamsburg Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Williamsburg Village is located in Arlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg Village
    • Arlington
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Buckingham
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Cherrydale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Arlington Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Arlington Village is located in Arlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington Village
    • Colonial Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Colonial Village is located in Arlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • Lyon Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Lyon Village is located in Arlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyon Village
    • Riverwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Culpeper County
  • Fairfax City
  • Falls Church City
  • Fauquier County
  • Loudoun County
  • Manassas City
  • Manassas Park City
    • Manassas Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Prince William County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
    • Yorkshire Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Yorkshire Village is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire Village
    • Yorkshire
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Yorkshire is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire
    • Buckhall
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Loch Lomond
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Loch Lomond is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loch Lomond
    • West Gate
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • West Gate is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Gate
    • Crestwood Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Crestwood Village is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestwood Village
    • Iron Gate
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Iron Gate is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
    • Sudley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Sudley is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sudley
    • Canova
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Lake Ridge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Bataan Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Bataan Village is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bataan Village
    • Bull Run
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Bull Run is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull Run
  • Stafford County
  • Charles County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
    • Riverview Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Riverview Village is located in Charles County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview Village
    • Indian Head
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Potomac Heights
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Potomac Heights is located in Charles County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potomac Heights
    • Marbury
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Marbury is located in Charles County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marbury
    • Mattawoman Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Mattawoman Village is located in Charles County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattawoman Village
    • Bryans Road
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • South Hampton Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • South Hampton Village is located in Charles County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hampton Village
    • Pomonkey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Doncaster
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Freedom Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Freedom Village is located in Charles County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Village
    • Bennsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Bennsville is located in Charles County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennsville
    • Ironsides
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Ironsides is located in Charles County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironsides
  • Montgomery County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
    • Brookmont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Brookmont is located in Montgomery County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookmont
    • Cabin John
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Glen Echo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Potomac
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Travilah
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Bradmoor
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • English Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • English Village is located in Montgomery County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Village
    • Landon Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Landon Village is located in Montgomery County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landon Village
    • Somerset
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Somerset is located in Montgomery County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,259 people
    • Bethesda
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Chevy Chase Section Five
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Chevy Chase Section Five is located in Montgomery County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chevy Chase Section Five
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 702 people
    • Chevy Chase Section Three
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Chevy Chase Section Three is located in Montgomery County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chevy Chase Section Three
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 794 people
  • Prince George's County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
    • Fort Foote Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Fort Foote Village is located in Prince George's County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Foote Village
    • Accokeek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Forest Heights
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Forest Heights is located in Prince George's County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,558 people
    • Fort Washington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Oxon Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Friendly
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Friendly is located in Prince George's County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendly
    • Piscataway ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Hillcrest Heights
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Hillcrest Heights is located in Prince George's County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest Heights
    • Marlow Heights
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Temple Hills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Thrift
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Chillum
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Clifton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Clifton.

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 Clifton - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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 in 1895, Clifton had railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Clifton had a population of 301 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in Clifton ...

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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clifton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Clifton, there are papers which were published within 6 miles [9.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Clifton.

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 websites either 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 Clifton:

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 Clifton, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Clifton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.