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 Four Forks (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 Four Forks. 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 Four Forks ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Four Forks: Four Frks.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Four Forks. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Four Forks.
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 and hospitals 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.
Four Forks 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 Four Forks. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Four Forks:
- Nelson County (The home county of Four Forks)
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Forks, with the one closest to Four Forks listed first.
- Buffalo Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Buffalo Springs is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Springs
- Gladstone
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Norwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Norwood is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Arrington
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Shipman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Shipman is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipman
- Colleen
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Colleen is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colleen
- Warminster
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Warminster is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warminster
- Rockfish
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Rockfish is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockfish
- Jonesboro
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jonesboro is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
- Massies Mill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Massies Mill is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massies Mill
- Bryant
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Bryant is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Old Myndus
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Old Myndus is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Myndus
- Schuyler
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Albemarle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Forks, with the one closest to Four Forks listed first.
- Warren
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Warren is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
- Esmont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Esmont is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esmont
- Porters
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Porters is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porters
- Covesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Covesville is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covesville
- Alberene
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Alberene is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberene
- Scottsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Keene
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Stony Point
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Stony Point is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
- North Garden
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Batesville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Amherst County
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Forks, with the one closest to Four Forks listed first.
- Walkers Ford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Walkers Ford is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkers Ford
- New Glasgow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- New Glasgow is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Glasgow
- Amherst
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Sweet Briar Station
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
- Monitor
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Monitor is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- Coolwell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Coolwell is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
- Lowesville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Joshua Falls
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Joshua Falls is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joshua Falls
- Sandidges
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Sandidges is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
- Winesap
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Winesap is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Madison Heights
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Allwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Allwood is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
- Forks of Buffalo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
- Appomattox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Forks, with the one closest to Four Forks listed first.
- Bent Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bent Creek is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
- Beckham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Beckham is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckham
- Mineral ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mineral is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
- Appomattox
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Spout Spring
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Spout Spring is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spout Spring
- Evergreen
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Evergreen is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Hurtsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Hurtsville is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurtsville
- Chap
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Chap is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chap
- Spring Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Spring Mills is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Mills
- Pamplin City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Augusta County
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Forks, with the one closest to Four Forks listed first.
- Sherando
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Sherando is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherando
- Steeles Tavern
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Forks, with the one closest to Four Forks listed first.
- Abert
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Abert is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
- Boonsboro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
- Coleman Falls
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
- Waugh
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Waugh is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Forest
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Buckingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Forks, with the one closest to Four Forks listed first.
- Manteo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Manteo is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteo
- Alcoma
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Alcoma is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcoma
- Mount Vinco
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Mount Vinco is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vinco
- Toga
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Toga is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toga
- Buckingham
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Axtell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Axtell is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axtell
- Glenmore
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Glenmore is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
- Forbes ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Forbes is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbes
- Andersonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Enonville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Enonville is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enonville
- Centenary
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Centenary is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centenary
- Dillwyn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Sheppards
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Sheppards is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheppards
- Buena Vista City
- Buena Vista
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Forks, with the one closest to Four Forks listed first.
- Mount Athos ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Athos is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Athos
- Concord
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Rustburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Zion
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Zion is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Powhatan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Powhatan is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
- Lawyers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lawyers is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
- Timberlake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Yellow Branch
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
- Bedford Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Forks, with the one closest to Four Forks listed first.
- Guinea Mills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Guinea Mills is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guinea Mills
- Trents Mill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- 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 Four Forks, with the one closest to Four Forks listed first.
- Nicholas
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Nicholas is located in Fluvanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholas
- Antioch
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Antioch is located in Fluvanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
- Lynchburg City
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Forks, with the one closest to Four Forks listed first.
- Lavino Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Lynchburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Woodbine Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Prince Edward County
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Forks, with the one closest to Four Forks listed first.
- Five Forks
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Five Forks is located in Prince Edward County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
- Tuggle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Tuggle is located in Prince Edward County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuggle
- Darlington Heights
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Darlington Heights is located in Prince Edward County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington Heights
- Rockbridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Four Forks, with the one closest to Four Forks listed first.
- Marlbrook
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Marlbrook is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlbrook
- Riverside
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Four Forks, see our County-by-County Page for Four Forks.
Cemeteries Near Four Forks ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Four Forks.
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 Four Forks - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Four Forks covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Four Forks, with the one closest to Four Forks listed first.
- Allens Creek Community Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Centenary Memorial Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Tabor UMC Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- White Rock Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rebecca Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Woodland Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- 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>
- Wilson Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Morriss Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Trinity UMC Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Liberty Hall Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Amherst Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Amherst Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Amherst.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #49232 <2>
- Continue List (189 more) ...
- Mann Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- St. Joy Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Christian Aid Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
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 Four Forks in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Four Forks.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Four Forks, with the one closest to Four Forks listed first.
- Greenway
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Greenway is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Gladstone
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Buffalo Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Buffalo Springs is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Springs
- Bent Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bent Creek is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
- Norwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Norwood is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Walkers Ford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Walkers Ford is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkers Ford
- Mineral ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mineral is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
- Arrington
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wingina
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wingina is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingina
- Tye River
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Tye River is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tye River
- Midway Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Midway Mills is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway Mills
- New Glasgow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- New Glasgow is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Glasgow
- Continue List (20 more) ...
- Colleen
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Colleen is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colleen
- Stapleton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Stapleton is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stapleton
- Oakville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Oakville is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Four Forks. See our List of 1890's Communities around Four Forks.
Newspapers Published in Four Forks ...
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 12 newspapers that have been published in the area around Four Forks.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Four Forks, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Four Forks.
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 Four Forks:
- 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
- Cumberland County
- Fluvanna County
- Lynchburg City
- Prince Edward County
- Rockbridge 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> | 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- Four Forks) 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 Four Forks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |