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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 Criders (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 Criders. 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 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 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.

Criders is located in Rockingham County.

To see how the shape of Virginia's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Rockingham County: Albemarle, Augusta, Greene, Page, Shenandoah, Hardy (WV) & Pendleton (WV).

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

  • Rockingham County     (The home county of Criders)
  • Augusta County
  • Harrisonburg City
  • Highland County
    • Palo Alto
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Palo Alto. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palo Alto
      • Palo Alto is located in Highland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Palo Alto
      • From Criders to Palo Alto
  • Page County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Criders, with the one closest to Criders listed first.
    • Leaksville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Shenandoah
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shenandoah have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shenandoah
      • Shenandoah is located in Page County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,334 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shenandoah <2>
    • Verbena
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Verbena. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbena
      • Verbena is located in Page County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Verbena
      • From Criders to Verbena
    • Stanley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
      • Stanley is located in Page County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,676 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stanley <2>
    • Luray
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Marksville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Shenandoah County
  • Grant County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Criders, with the one closest to Criders listed first.
    • Seemly ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seemly have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seemly
      • Seemly is located in Grant County (WV)
    • Dorcas
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Pansy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pansy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pansy
      • Pansy is located in Grant County (WV)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pansy
      • From Criders to Pansy
    • Petersburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Seymourville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Hopeville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hopeville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeville
      • Hopeville is located in Grant County (WV)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hopeville
      • From Criders to Hopeville
    • Arthur
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Lahmansville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Maysville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Maysville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
      • Maysville is located in Grant County (WV)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Maysville
      • From Criders to Maysville
    • Medley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Hardy County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Criders, with the one closest to Criders listed first.
    • Peru
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Peru. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
      • Peru is located in Hardy County (WV)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Peru
      • From Criders to Peru
    • Mathias
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Lost City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lost City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost City
      • Lost City is located in Hardy County (WV)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lost City <2>
    • Durgon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Durgon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durgon
      • Durgon is located in Hardy County (WV)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Durgon
      • From Criders to Durgon
    • Moorefield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Fort Run
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Baker
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Inkerman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Inkerman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inkerman
      • Inkerman is located in Hardy County (WV)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Inkerman
      • From Criders to Inkerman
  • Pendleton County (WV)
  • Randolph County (WV)

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

Cemeteries Near Criders ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Criders.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Criders, with the one closest to Criders 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Criders had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Peru
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Peru. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
    • Peru is located in Hardy County (WV)
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Peru
    • From Criders to Peru
  • Fulks Run
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Fort Seybert
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Hepners
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hepners have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hepners
    • Hepners is located in Shenandoah County
  • Orkney Springs
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Cootes Store
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Mathias
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Seemly ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seemly have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seemly
    • Seemly is located in Grant County (WV)
  • Deer Run
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deer Run have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Run
    • Deer Run is located in Pendleton County (WV)
  • Oak Flat
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Flat have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Flat
    • Oak Flat is located in Pendleton County (WV)
  • Masonville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Masonville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masonville
    • Masonville is located in Grant County (WV)
  • Kline
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kline. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kline
    • Kline is located in Pendleton County (WV)
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Kline
    • From Criders to Kline
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Criders ...

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 Criders.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Criders, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Criders.

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 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 Criders:

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Criders) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Criders. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.7519, Longitude: -79.0052    
<6>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 Criders, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.