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 and 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.
Clifton is located in Russell 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 Russell County: Buchanan, Dickenson, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington & Wise.
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:
- Russell County (The home county of Clifton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
- Dye
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Dye is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dye
- Honaker
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Russell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Russell is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Barnett
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Barnett is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnett
- Elk Garden
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Elk Garden is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Garden
- Lebanon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Artrip
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Artrip is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artrip
- Spring City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Spring City is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring City
- Cleveland
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Cleveland is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Jessees Mill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jessees Mill is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jessees Mill
- Kiser ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Kiser is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiser
- Carterton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Carterton is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carterton
- Creswell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Creswell is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creswell
- Buchanan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
- Rowe
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Rowe is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe
- Council
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Council is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
- Bearwallow
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Bearwallow is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Mavisdale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mavisdale is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mavisdale
- Height
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Height is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
- Peapatch
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Peapatch is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
- Janey
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Janey is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janey
- Leemaster
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Leemaster is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemaster
- Vansant
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson Flats
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Jackson Flats is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
- Paynesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Paynesville is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Matney
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Matney is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matney
- Royal City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Royal City is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal City
- Dickenson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
- Carrie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Carrie is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrie
- Bucu
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Bucu is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucu
- Aily
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Aily is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aily
- Haysi
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Nora
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Nora is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora
- Clinchco
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Tarpon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Tarpon is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarpon
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
- Allison Gap
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Allison Gap is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allison Gap
- Cardwell Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Cardwell Town is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardwell Town
- Saltville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Broadford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Broadford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
- Ellendale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ellendale is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Chilhowie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Seven Mile Ford
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Seven Mile Ford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Mile Ford
- Adwolf
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Adwolf is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adwolf
- Marion
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Carmel
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Atkins
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sugar Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Tazewell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
- Paintlick
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Paintlick is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paintlick
- Raven
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Raven is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven
- Richlands
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Claypool Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Claypool Hill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claypool Hill
- Steeleburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Steeleburg is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steeleburg
- Cedar Bluff
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Red Ash
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Red Ash is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Ash
- Pounding Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Harman
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Harman is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harman
- Maxwell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Maxwell is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Dunford Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Dunford Village is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunford Village
- Pisgah
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pisgah is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Sayersville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sayersville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayersville
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
- Clinchburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Clinchburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinchburg
- Glade Spring
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Lindell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Lindell is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindell
- Fleet
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Glenford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Glenford is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenford
- Brumley Gap
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Brumley Gap is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brumley Gap
- Lowland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lowland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowland
- Friendship
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Friendship is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Lodi
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Lodi is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Loves Mill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Loves Mill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loves Mill
- Holston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Holston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holston
- Abingdon
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Abingdon is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,856 people
- Greendale
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Greendale is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale
- Wise County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
- Saint Paul
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Virginia City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Virginia City is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia City
- Dwina
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Dwina is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwina
- McDowell County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
- Height
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Height is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
- Peapatch
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Peapatch is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
- Bishop
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bishop is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Newhall
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Newhall is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhall
- War
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- War is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War
- Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
- Jackson Flats
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Jackson Flats is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
- Paynesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Paynesville is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Yukon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Yukon is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yukon
- Bradshaw
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Avondale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Avondale is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale
- Union City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Union City is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
- Gary
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Gary is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
- Iaeger
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Iaeger is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iaeger
- Population from the 2020 Census: 232 people
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.
- Ferrell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mutter Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- White Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Settle Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ferguson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bradshaw Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- White Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bradshaw Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Barnett Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lester Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Brown Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Thomas J. Horton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (918 more) ...
- Baylor Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ratcliff Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Payne Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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 in 1895, Clifton had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
- Belfast
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Belfast is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfast
- Steeleburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Steeleburg is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steeleburg
- Doran
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Richlands
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Swords Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cedar Bluff
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Rosedale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rosedale is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
- Pounding Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Honaker
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Gillespie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Gillespie is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillespie
- Saltville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Barnett
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Barnett is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnett
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Elk Garden
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Elk Garden is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Garden
- Rockdell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rockdell is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdell
- Broadford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Broadford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
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 17 miles [27.4 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 first visit 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 Clifton:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Russell County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Buchanan County
- Dickenson County
- Smyth County
- Tazewell County
- Washington County
- Wise County
- McDowell 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 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Clifton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |