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 Elma (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 Elma. 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 doctors 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.
Elma is located in Nelson 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 Nelson County: Albemarle, Appomattox, Augusta & Buckingham.
Below are the counties that are near Elma. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Elma:
- Nelson County (The home county of Elma)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elma, with the one closest to Elma listed first.
- Rockfish
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rockfish is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockfish
- Shipman
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Shipman is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipman
- Schuyler
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Old Myndus
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Old Myndus is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Myndus
- Faber
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Adial
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Adial is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adial
- Norwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Norwood is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Warminster
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Warminster is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warminster
- Arrington
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Colleen
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Colleen is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colleen
- Bryant
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bryant is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Buffalo Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Buffalo Springs is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Springs
- Albemarle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elma, with the one closest to Elma listed first.
- Covesville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Covesville is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covesville
- Esmont
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Esmont is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esmont
- Porters
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Porters is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porters
- Warren
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Warren is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
- Alberene
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Alberene is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberene
- Keene
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- North Garden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Scottsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Stony Point
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Stony Point is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
- Batesville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Yancey Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Yancey Mills is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancey Mills
- Woodridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Woodridge is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodridge
- Amherst County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elma, with the one closest to Elma listed first.
- New Glasgow
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- New Glasgow is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Glasgow
- Lowesville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Amherst
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Monitor
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Monitor is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- Walkers Ford
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Walkers Ford is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkers Ford
- Sandidges
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Sandidges is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
- Sweet Briar Station
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
- Coolwell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Coolwell is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
- Alto
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Alto is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Forks of Buffalo
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
- Allwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Allwood is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
- Joshua Falls
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Joshua Falls is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joshua Falls
- Appomattox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elma, with the one closest to Elma listed first.
- Bent Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Bent Creek is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
- Beckham
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Beckham is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckham
- Mineral ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Mineral is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
- Appomattox
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hurtsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Hurtsville is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurtsville
- Spout Spring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Spout Spring is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spout Spring
- Evergreen
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Evergreen is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Augusta County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elma, with the one closest to Elma listed first.
- Sherando
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sherando is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherando
- Lipscomb
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lipscomb is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lipscomb
- Lyndhurst
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Stuarts Draft
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Dooms
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Dooms is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooms
- Fishersville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Steeles Tavern
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Greenville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Spottswood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Spottswood is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spottswood
- Crimora
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Brand
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Brand is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brand
- Jolivue
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jolivue is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jolivue
- Bedford County
- Abert
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Abert is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
- Buckingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elma, with the one closest to Elma listed first.
- Manteo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Manteo is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteo
- Axtell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Axtell is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axtell
- Glenmore
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Glenmore is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
- Centenary
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Centenary is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centenary
- Mount Vinco
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Vinco is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vinco
- Alcoma
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Alcoma is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcoma
- Buckingham
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Toga
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Toga is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toga
- Enonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Enonville is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enonville
- Forbes ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Forbes is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbes
- Andersonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Dillwyn
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Buena Vista City
- Buena Vista
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elma, with the one closest to Elma listed first.
- Mount Athos ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Athos is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Athos
- Concord
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Charlottesville City
- The following are listed by their distance from Elma, with the one closest to Elma listed first.
- Belmont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Belmont is located in Charlottesville City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Charlottesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Locust Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Locust Grove is located in Charlottesville City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
- Cumberland County
- Trents Mill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Trents Mill is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trents Mill
- Fluvanna County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elma, with the one closest to Elma listed first.
- Nicholas
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Nicholas is located in Fluvanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholas
- Antioch
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Antioch is located in Fluvanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
- Weber City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Lake Monticello
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Monticello is located in Fluvanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Monticello
- Fork Union
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lynchburg City
- The following are listed by their distance from Elma, with the one closest to Elma listed first.
- Lavino Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Lynchburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rockbridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elma, with the one closest to Elma listed first.
- Marlbrook
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Marlbrook is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlbrook
- Davis
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Davis is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
- Fairfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Fairfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
- Riverside
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Waynesboro City
- Waynesboro
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Elma, see our County-by-County Page for Elma.
Cemeteries Near Elma ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elma.
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 Elma - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Elma covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Elma, with the one closest to Elma listed first.
- Locust Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgecrest Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Hill Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Stevens Cove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mt. Shiloh Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Spring Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Woodland Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Woodland Cemetery is located in Colleen.
- The Woodland Cemetery has also been known as:
- Woodland Baptist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #52729 <2>
- Centenary Memorial Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Liberty Hall Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Adial Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Harris Family Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Family Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Harris Family Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the west of Esmont.
- The Harris Family Cemetery has also been known as:
- Harris - Kidd - Bryant Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2439014 <2>
- Continue List (220 more) ...
- White Rock Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Chestnut Grove Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Grove Cemetery
- The Chestnut Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Chestnut Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
- Gibson Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Gibson Cemetery is located outside and to the southwest of Covesville.
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 Elma in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Elma.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Elma, with the one closest to Elma listed first.
- Lovingston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Schuyler
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Faber
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Arrington
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Norwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Norwood is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Midway Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Midway Mills is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway Mills
- Warminster
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Warminster is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warminster
- Colleen
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Colleen is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colleen
- Wingina
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Wingina is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingina
- Manteo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Manteo is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteo
- Howardsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Howardsville is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howardsville
- Damon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Damon is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damon
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- McCullough
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- McCullough is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCullough
- Bryant
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bryant is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Roseland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Elma. See our List of 1890's Communities around Elma.
Newspapers Published in Elma ...
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 23 newspapers that have been published in the area around Elma.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Elma, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Elma.
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 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 Elma:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Nelson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Albemarle County
- Amherst County
- Appomattox County
- Augusta County
- Bedford County
- Buckingham County
- Buena Vista City
- Campbell County
- Charlottesville City
- Cumberland County
- Fluvanna County
- Lynchburg City
- Rockbridge County
- Waynesboro City
- 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> | 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- Elma) 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 Elma, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |