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 Gillespie (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 Gillespie. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Gillespie is located in Tazewell 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 Tazewell County: Bland, Buchanan, Russell, Smyth, McDowell (WV) & Mercer (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Gillespie. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Gillespie:
- Tazewell County (The home county of Gillespie)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Maxwell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Maxwell is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Pounding Mill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Claypool Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Claypool Hill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claypool Hill
- Pisgah
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Pisgah is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Harman
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Harman is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harman
- Steeleburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Steeleburg is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steeleburg
- Cedar Bluff
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Thompson Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Thompson Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson Valley
- Dunford Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Dunford Village is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunford Village
- Sayersville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sayersville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayersville
- Richlands
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Adria
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Adria is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adria
- Bland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Bastian
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Bland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Hicksville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Buchanan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Bearwallow
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Bearwallow is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Peapatch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Peapatch is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
- Height
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Height is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
- Mavisdale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Mavisdale is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mavisdale
- Jackson Flats
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson Flats is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
- Paynesville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Paynesville is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Rowe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Rowe is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe
- Janey
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Janey is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janey
- Matney
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Matney is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matney
- Council
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Council is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
- Vansant
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Grundy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dickenson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Bucu
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Bucu is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucu
- Carrie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Carrie is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrie
- Grayson County
- Trout Dale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Russell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Dye
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Dye is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dye
- Honaker
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Russell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Russell is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Barnett
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Barnett is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnett
- Elk Garden
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Elk Garden is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Garden
- Lebanon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Spring City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Spring City is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring City
- Artrip
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Artrip is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artrip
- Cleveland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Cleveland is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Jessees Mill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jessees Mill is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jessees Mill
- Kiser ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kiser is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiser
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Broadford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Broadford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
- Ellendale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ellendale is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Allison Gap
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Allison Gap is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allison Gap
- Cardwell Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cardwell Town is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardwell Town
- Saltville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Seven Mile Ford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Seven Mile Ford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Mile Ford
- Marion
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Carmel
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Chilhowie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Atkins
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Adwolf
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Adwolf is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adwolf
- Sugar Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Clinchburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Clinchburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinchburg
- Fleet
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Glade Spring
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Loves Mill
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Loves Mill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loves Mill
- Lindell
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Lindell is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindell
- Friendship
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Friendship is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Glenford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Glenford is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenford
- Lodi
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Lodi is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Masada
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Masada is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masada
- Brumley Gap
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Brumley Gap is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brumley Gap
- Lowland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lowland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowland
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Rural Retreat
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Crockett
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- McDowell County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Bishop
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bishop is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Newhall
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Newhall is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhall
- War
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- War is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War
- Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
- Peapatch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Peapatch is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
- Yukon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Yukon is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yukon
- Height
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Height is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
- Bradshaw
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Gary
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Gary is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
- Thorpe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Thorpe is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorpe
- Jackson Flats
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson Flats is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
- Paynesville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Paynesville is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Anawalt
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Anawalt is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
- Mercer County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Coopers
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Coopers is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
- Nemours
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Yards
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Yards is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Bramwell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Freeman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Freeman is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Coaldale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Coaldale is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Bluefield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Flipping
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Flipping is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
- Littlesburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Littlesburg is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
- Montcalm
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Montcalm is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcalm
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Wyoming County (WV)
- Woosley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Woosley is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woosley
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Gillespie, see our County-by-County Page for Gillespie.
Cemeteries Near Gillespie ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gillespie.
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 Gillespie - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Gillespie covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Green Hills Memorial Gardens
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Barns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Ratcliff Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Ward Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Osborne Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Keister Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mitchell Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Caldwell Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lowe Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hankins Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Brown Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Holmes Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Continue List (771 more) ...
- Crabtree Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Necessary Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Martin Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Gillespie had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Pounding Mill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Maxwell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Maxwell is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Gap Store
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Gap Store is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gap Store
- Steeleburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Steeleburg is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steeleburg
- Harman
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Harman is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harman
- Pisgah
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Pisgah is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Cedar Bluff
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Thompson Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Thompson Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson Valley
- Sayersville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sayersville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayersville
- Pleasant Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Richlands
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Tannersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Tannersville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannersville
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Doran
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Clifton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Clifton is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Asberrys
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Asberrys is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asberrys
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Gillespie. See our List of 1890's Communities around Gillespie.
Newspapers Published in Gillespie ...
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 15 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gillespie.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gillespie, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gillespie.
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 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 Gillespie:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Tazewell County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bland County
- Buchanan County
- Dickenson County
- Grayson County
- Russell County
- Smyth County
- Washington County
- Wythe County
- McDowell County
- Mercer County
- Wyoming 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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Gillespie) 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 Gillespie, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |