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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 Franks Mill (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 Franks Mill. 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 Franks Mill ...

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.

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

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Franks Mill might be written as Frank Mill.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Franks Mill is located in Augusta 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 Augusta County: Albemarle, Bath, Highland, Nelson, Rockbridge, Rockingham & Pendleton (WV).

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

  • Augusta County     (The home county of Franks Mill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franks Mill, with the one closest to Franks Mill listed first.
    • Churchville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Verona
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Parnassus
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Parnassus is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
    • Jolivue
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jolivue is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jolivue
    • Mount Solon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Arbor Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Arbor Hill is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbor Hill
    • Stokesville ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Stokesville is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokesville
    • Brand
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Brand is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brand
    • Chapin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Chapin is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin
    • Weyers Cave
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Fishersville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • West Augusta
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • West Augusta is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Augusta
    • Middlebrook
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Albemarle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franks Mill, with the one closest to Franks Mill listed first.
    • Mountfair
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Mountfair is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountfair
    • Foothill Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Foothill Village is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foothill Village
    • Crozet
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Yancey Mills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Yancey Mills is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancey Mills
    • White Hall
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • White Hall is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
    • Batesville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Boonesville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Boonesville is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonesville
    • Cedarmere
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Cedarmere is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
    • Decca ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Decca is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decca
    • Free Union
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Ivy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Bath County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franks Mill, with the one closest to Franks Mill listed first.
    • Yost
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Yost is located in Bath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yost
    • Fort Lewis ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Fort Lewis is located in Bath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lewis
    • Burnsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Burnsville is located in Bath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnsville
    • Bolar
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Bolar is located in Bath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolar
  • Greene County
    • Cedarmere ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Cedarmere is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
  • Harrisonburg City
    • Harrisonburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Highland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franks Mill, with the one closest to Franks Mill listed first.
    • Palo Alto
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Palo Alto is located in Highland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palo Alto
    • McDowell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Clover Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Clover Creek is located in Highland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Creek
    • Monterey
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Possum Trot
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Possum Trot is located in Highland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possum Trot
  • Nelson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franks Mill, with the one closest to Franks Mill listed first.
    • Afton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Onan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Onan is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onan
    • Durrett Town
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Durrett Town is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durrett Town
    • Greenfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Greenfield is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
    • Lodebar
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Lodebar is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodebar
    • Nellysford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Tyro
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Adial
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Adial is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adial
    • Bryant
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Bryant is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
    • Old Myndus
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Old Myndus is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Myndus
  • Rockbridge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franks Mill, with the one closest to Franks Mill listed first.
    • Davis
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Davis is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
    • Brownsburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Fairfield is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
    • Marlbrook
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Marlbrook is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlbrook
    • Goshen
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Rockingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franks Mill, with the one closest to Franks Mill listed first.
    • Spring Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Spring Creek is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
    • Mount Crawford
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Bridgewater
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • North River
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • North River is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North River
    • Briery Branch
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Briery Branch is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briery Branch
    • Ottobine
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Ottobine is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottobine
    • Rushville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Rushville is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushville
    • Clover Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Clover Hill is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Hill
    • Dayton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Dayton is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,642 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dayton <2>
    • Lilly
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Lilly is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
    • Coakley Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Coakley Town is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coakley Town
    • Cross Keys
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Goods Mill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Goods Mill is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goods Mill
  • Staunton City
    • Staunton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Waynesboro City
    • Waynesboro
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Pendleton County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franks Mill, with the one closest to Franks Mill listed first.
    • Sugar Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Sugar Grove is located in Pendleton County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
    • Moyers
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Moyers is located in Pendleton County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moyers
    • Propstburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Propstburg is located in Pendleton County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Propstburg
    • Brandywine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Harper
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Harper is located in Pendleton County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper

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

Cemeteries Near Franks Mill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Franks Mill.

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 Franks Mill - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Schutterie Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Allen Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Green Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Oak Lawn Memory Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Thornrose Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Elk Run Church of the Brethren Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Cline Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Crosby Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Hunters Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hospital Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Chapel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (258 more) ...
    • Staunton National Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Croft Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Belmont Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)

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.<5>

While we didn't find Franks Mill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Franks Mill.

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

  • Churchville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Lone Fountain
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Lone Fountain is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Fountain
  • Snyder
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Snyder is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
  • Verona
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Parnassus
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Parnassus is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
  • Swoope
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Roman
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Roman is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roman
  • Moscow
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Moscow is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
  • Buffalo Gap
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Buffalo Gap is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Gap
  • Annex
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Annex is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annex
  • Fort Defiance
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Stribling Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Stribling Springs is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stribling Springs
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Arbor Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Arbor Hill is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbor Hill
    • Folly Mills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Folly Mills is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folly Mills
    • Laurel Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Laurel Hill is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill

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

Newspapers Published in Franks Mill ...

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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Franks Mill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Franks Mill, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Franks Mill.

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 websites either 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 Franks Mill:

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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Franks Mill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<5>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 Franks Mill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.