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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 Drewrys Bluff (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 Drewrys Bluff. 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.

Name Variations for Drewrys Bluff ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

  • A typical abbreviation for Drewrys Bluff: Drewrys Blf. (or less commonly used: Drewrys Bluf.)
  • While the name of this community is Drewrys Bluff, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Drewrys Bluff may originally have been Drewry's Bluff.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Drewrys Bluff might be written as Drewry Bluff.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 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.

Drewrys Bluff is located in Chesterfield 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 Chesterfield County: Amelia, Charles City, Dinwiddie, Henrico, Hopewell City, Prince George & Richmond.

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

  • Chesterfield County     (The home county of Drewrys Bluff)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drewrys Bluff, with the one closest to Drewrys Bluff listed first.
    • Bensley Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bensley Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bensley Village
      • Bensley Village is located in Chesterfield County
    • Beulah Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beulah Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah Village
      • Beulah Village is located in Chesterfield County
    • Bellwood
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bellwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
      • Bellwood is located in Chesterfield County
    • Bensley
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bensley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bensley
      • Bensley is located in Chesterfield County
    • Centralia
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Centralia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
      • Centralia is located in Chesterfield County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Centralia
      • From Drewrys Bluff to Centralia
    • Chester
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Chesterfield Court House
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chesterfield Court House have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield Court House
      • Chesterfield Court House is located in Chesterfield County
    • Chesterfield Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chesterfield Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield Village
      • Chesterfield Village is located in Chesterfield County
    • Fendley ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fendley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fendley
      • Fendley is located in Chesterfield County
    • Bon Air
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Meadowville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Screamersville ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Amelia County
  • Charles City County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drewrys Bluff, with the one closest to Drewrys Bluff listed first.
    • Kimages
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kimages. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimages
      • Kimages is located in Charles City County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kimages
      • From Drewrys Bluff to Kimages
    • Roxbury
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Roxbury. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
      • Roxbury is located in Charles City County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Roxbury
      • From Drewrys Bluff to Roxbury
    • Westover
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Westover. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
      • Westover is located in Charles City County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Westover
      • From Drewrys Bluff to Westover
    • Charles City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Ruthville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
  • Colonial Heights City
    • Colonial Heights
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colonial Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Heights
      • Colonial Heights is located in Colonial Heights City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,205 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colonial Heights <4>
  • Dinwiddie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drewrys Bluff, with the one closest to Drewrys Bluff listed first.
    • Grant Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grant Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Village
      • Grant Village is located in Dinwiddie County
    • Addison
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Maitland Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maitland Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maitland Village
      • Maitland Village is located in Dinwiddie County
    • Hebron
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hebron. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
      • Hebron is located in Dinwiddie County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hebron
      • From Drewrys Bluff to Hebron
    • Laird ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laird have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laird
      • Laird is located in Dinwiddie County
    • Waldemar ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waldemar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldemar
      • Waldemar is located in Dinwiddie County
    • Borthwick ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Borthwick have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borthwick
      • Borthwick is located in Dinwiddie County
    • Wilsons
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Goochland County
  • Hanover County
  • Henrico County
  • Hopewell City
  • King William County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drewrys Bluff, with the one closest to Drewrys Bluff listed first.
    • Enfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Enfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
      • Enfield is located in King William County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Enfield
      • From Drewrys Bluff to Enfield
    • Manquin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Rumford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rumford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rumford
      • Rumford is located in King William County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rumford
      • From Drewrys Bluff to Rumford
    • Tuck Fork
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Lanesville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • New Kent County
  • Nottoway County
    • Spainville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Petersburg City
  • Powhatan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drewrys Bluff, with the one closest to Drewrys Bluff listed first.
    • Huguenot
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Huguenot. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huguenot
      • Huguenot is located in Powhatan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Huguenot
      • From Drewrys Bluff to Huguenot
    • Dorset
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dorset. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorset
      • Dorset is located in Powhatan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dorset
      • From Drewrys Bluff to Dorset
    • Pilkinton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Michaux
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Michaux. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michaux
      • Michaux is located in Powhatan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Michaux
      • From Drewrys Bluff to Michaux
    • Beaumont
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Belona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Belona. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belona
      • Belona is located in Powhatan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Belona
      • From Drewrys Bluff to Belona
  • Prince George County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drewrys Bluff, with the one closest to Drewrys Bluff listed first.
    • Garysville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Derby ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Derby have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
      • Derby is located in Prince George County
    • Newville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Newville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
      • Newville is located in Prince George County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Newville
      • From Drewrys Bluff to Newville
    • Burrowsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Talpa ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Talpa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talpa
      • Talpa is located in Prince George County
  • Richmond City
  • Richmond County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drewrys Bluff, with the one closest to Drewrys Bluff listed first.
    • Walmsley Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walmsley Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walmsley Village
      • Walmsley Village is located in Richmond County
    • Cherry Gardens
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Chippenham Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chippenham Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippenham Village
      • Chippenham Village is located in Richmond County
  • Surry County
    • Claremont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Claremont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
      • Claremont is located in Surry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people

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

Cemeteries Near Drewrys Bluff ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Drewrys Bluff.

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 Drewrys Bluff covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Drewrys Bluff, with the one closest to Drewrys Bluff 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.<7>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Drewrys Bluff had a population of 33 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Centralia
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Centralia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
    • Centralia is located in Chesterfield County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Centralia
    • From Drewrys Bluff to Centralia
  • Chesterfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chesterfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield
    • Chesterfield is located in Chesterfield County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chesterfield <4>
  • Chester
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Fendley ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fendley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fendley
    • Fendley is located in Chesterfield County
  • Varina Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Walthall
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walthall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walthall
    • Walthall is located in Chesterfield County
  • Meadowville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Cotman ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cotman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotman
    • Cotman is located in Henrico County
  • Fort Lee
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fort Lee. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lee
    • Fort Lee is located in Henrico County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Fort Lee
    • From Drewrys Bluff to Fort Lee
  • Bon Air
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Seven Pines
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Pines
    • Seven Pines is located in Henrico County
  • Fair Oaks
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • 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 Drewrys Bluff. See our List of 1890's Communities around Drewrys Bluff.

Newspapers Published in Drewrys Bluff ...

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 461 newspapers that have been published in the area around Drewrys Bluff.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Drewrys Bluff, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Drewrys Bluff.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Drewrys Bluff:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Drewrys Bluff. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Chesterfield County: www.co.chesterfield.va.us/

The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>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.
<3>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.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Drewrys Bluff) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Drewrys Bluff. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.4266, Longitude: -77.4582       In this case, the coordinates for Drewrys Bluff have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>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.
<7>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 Drewrys Bluff, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025