RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Amherst County >> Colony >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Colony (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 Colony. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Colony is located in Amherst 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 Amherst County: Appomattox, Bedford, Campbell, Lynchburg City, Nelson & Rockbridge.

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

  • Amherst County     (The home county of Colony)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colony, with the one closest to Colony listed first.
    • Madison Heights
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Joshua Falls
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Joshua Falls is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joshua Falls
    • Winesap
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Winesap is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
    • Coolwell
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Coolwell is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
    • Sweet Briar Station
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
    • Amherst
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Walkers Ford
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Walkers Ford is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkers Ford
    • Pedlar Mills
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
    • Monitor
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Monitor is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
    • Pleasant View
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
    • New Glasgow
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • New Glasgow is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Glasgow
    • Allwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Allwood is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
  • Appomattox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colony, with the one closest to Colony listed first.
    • Spout Spring
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Spout Spring is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spout Spring
    • Beckham
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Beckham is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckham
    • Mineral ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Mineral is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
    • Appomattox
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Spring Mills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Spring Mills is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Mills
    • Bent Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Bent Creek is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
    • Chap
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Chap is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chap
    • Evergreen
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Evergreen is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
    • Pamplin City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hurtsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Hurtsville is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurtsville
  • Bedford City
    • Bedford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colony, with the one closest to Colony listed first.
    • Abert
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Abert is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
    • Boonsboro
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
    • Forest
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Coleman Falls
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
    • Waugh
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Waugh is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
    • Bellevue
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Bellevue is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
    • Cifax
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Cifax is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
    • Goode
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Lowry
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Lowry is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
    • Peaksville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Peaksville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
    • Huddleston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Joppa Mill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
  • Botetourt County
    • Rocky Point
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
  • Buckingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colony, with the one closest to Colony listed first.
    • Forbes ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Forbes is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbes
    • Toga
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Toga is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toga
    • Alcoma
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Alcoma is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcoma
    • Andersonville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Manteo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Manteo is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteo
    • Mount Vinco
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Vinco is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vinco
  • Buena Vista City
    • Buena Vista
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Campbell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colony, with the one closest to Colony listed first.
    • Mount Athos ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Athos is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Athos
    • Powhatan
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Powhatan is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
    • Rustburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Concord
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lawyers
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Lawyers is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
    • Timberlake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Timberlake is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
    • Yellow Branch
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
    • Bedford Springs
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
    • Mount Zion
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Mount Zion is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
    • Gladys
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Lynch Station
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Lynch Station is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Station
    • Altavista
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Charlotte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colony, with the one closest to Colony listed first.
    • Abell ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Abell is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abell
    • Rough Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Rough Creek is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rough Creek
    • Phenix
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Phenix is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phenix
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
  • Halifax County
    • Cody
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Cody is located in Halifax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cody
  • Lynchburg City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colony, with the one closest to Colony listed first.
    • Lynchburg
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Lavino Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
    • Woodbine Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
  • Nelson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colony, with the one closest to Colony listed first.
    • Gladstone
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Buffalo Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Buffalo Springs is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Springs
    • Arrington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Colleen
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Colleen is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colleen
    • Norwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Norwood is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
    • Massies Mill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Massies Mill is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massies Mill
    • Jonesboro
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jonesboro is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
    • Shipman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Shipman is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipman
    • Bryant
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Bryant is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
    • Tyro
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Warminster
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Warminster is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warminster
  • Pittsylvania County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colony, with the one closest to Colony listed first.
    • Hurt
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Hurt is located in Pittsylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hurt <1>
    • Brutus
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Brutus is located in Pittsylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brutus
    • Renan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Renan is located in Pittsylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renan
  • Rockbridge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colony, with the one closest to Colony listed first.
    • Glasgow
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Buffalo Forge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
    • Greenlee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
    • Fancy Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
    • Natural Bridge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Red Mills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
    • Riverside
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
    • Springfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Springfield is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
    • Zollman ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
    • Longwood ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood

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

Cemeteries Near Colony ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Colony.

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

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

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

  • Presbyterian Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • White Rock Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Mead Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Beth Joseph Agudath Sholom Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Spring Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Falwell Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Megginson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Old City Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old City Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Old City Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Lynchburg.
    • The Old City Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Confederate Cemetery
    • Methodist Cemetery
    • Old Lynchburg City Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1970115 <2>
  • Burford Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Falwell Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Feagans Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (174 more) ...

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 Colony in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Colony.

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

  • Bocock
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Bocock is located in Campbell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bocock
  • Joshua Falls
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Joshua Falls is located in Amherst County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joshua Falls
  • Mount Athos ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Athos is located in Campbell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Athos
  • Stapleton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Stapleton is located in Amherst County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stapleton
  • Elon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Elon is located in Amherst County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
  • Coolwell
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Coolwell is located in Amherst County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
  • Salt Creek
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Salt Creek is located in Amherst County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Creek
  • Abert
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Abert is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
  • Boonsboro
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
  • Lawyers
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Lawyers is located in Campbell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
  • Rustburg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Concord
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Forest
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Pearch
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Pearch is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearch
    • Coffee
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Coffee is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee

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

Newspapers Published in Colony ...

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 105 newspapers that have been published in the area around Colony.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Colony, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Colony.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Colony:

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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Colony) 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 Colony, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.