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 Gratton (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 Gratton. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.
Gratton 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 Gratton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Gratton:
- Tazewell County (The home county of Gratton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gratton, with the one closest to Gratton listed first.
- Little Town
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Little Town is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
- Shawver Mill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
- Springville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Springville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Wittens Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
- Five Oaks
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Five Oaks is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Oaks
- Tazewell
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Abbs Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Abbs Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
- Adria
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Adria is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adria
- Saint Clair
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- Shraders
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Shraders is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shraders
- Thompson Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Thompson Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson Valley
- Pisgah
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Pisgah is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Bishop
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bishop is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Bland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gratton, with the one closest to Gratton listed first.
- Bastian
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Hicksville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Bland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Rocky Gap
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Round Bottom
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Round Bottom is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
- Mechanicsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
- Buchanan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gratton, with the one closest to Gratton listed first.
- Bearwallow
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Bearwallow is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Peapatch
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Peapatch is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
- Height
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Height is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
- Jackson Flats
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson Flats is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
- Paynesville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Paynesville is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Grayson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gratton, with the one closest to Gratton listed first.
- Trout Dale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Flat Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Flat Ridge is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Ridge
- Russell County
- Dye
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Dye is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dye
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gratton, with the one closest to Gratton listed first.
- Ellendale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ellendale is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Atkins
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Mount Carmel
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Broadford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Broadford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
- Marion
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Sugar Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Adwolf
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Adwolf is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adwolf
- Cardwell Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cardwell Town is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardwell Town
- Saltville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Seven Mile Ford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Seven Mile Ford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Mile Ford
- Allison Gap
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Allison Gap is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allison Gap
- Chilhowie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gratton, with the one closest to Gratton listed first.
- Fleet
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Clinchburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Clinchburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinchburg
- Glade Spring
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Loves Mill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Loves Mill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loves Mill
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gratton, with the one closest to Gratton listed first.
- Rural Retreat
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Crockett
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wytheville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rowe Crossroads
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
- Kent
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Speedwell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Fort Chiswell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
- Max Meadows
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Locust Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Siloam
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Siloam is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- McDowell County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gratton, with the one closest to Gratton listed first.
- Bishop
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bishop is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Anawalt
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Anawalt is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
- Newhall
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Newhall is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhall
- Thorpe
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Thorpe is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorpe
- Elkhorn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Elkhorn is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
- Gary
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gary is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
- Kyle
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Kyle is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
- War
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- War is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War
- Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
- Keystone
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Northfork
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Big Four
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Big Four is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Four
- Kimball
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Yukon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Yukon is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yukon
- Mercer County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gratton, with the one closest to Gratton listed first.
- Yards
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Yards is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Coopers
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Coopers is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
- Bluefield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Nemours
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bramwell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Freeman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Freeman is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Coaldale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Coaldale is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Flipping
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Flipping is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
- Littlesburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Littlesburg is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
- Montcalm
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Montcalm is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcalm
- Edison
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Edison is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- El Centro ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- El Centro is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Centro
- Wyoming County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gratton, with the one closest to Gratton listed first.
- Bud
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Bud is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
- Woosley
(28 miles [45.1 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 Gratton, see our County-by-County Page for Gratton.
Cemeteries Near Gratton ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gratton.
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 Gratton - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Gratton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Gratton, with the one closest to Gratton listed first.
- Witten Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Thompson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Earls Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Stevens Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Ireson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Green Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Herts Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mays Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Watts Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Thompson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- McMullen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Harmon Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (570 more) ...
- Wallace Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Morton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- The Morton Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morton Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Morton Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the west of Springville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #51238 <3>
- Harmon Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
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 Gratton had a population of 34 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Gratton, with the one closest to Gratton listed first.
- Shawver Mill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
- Burkes Garden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Springville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Springville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Wittens Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
- Five Oaks
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Five Oaks is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Oaks
- Bailey
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Bailey is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Cove Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cove Creek is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Creek
- Thompson Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Thompson Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson Valley
- Ceres
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ceres is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceres
- Saint Clair
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- Shraders
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Shraders is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shraders
- Pisgah
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Pisgah is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Grapefield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Grapefield is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapefield
- Asberrys
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Asberrys is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asberrys
- Effna
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Effna is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Effna
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Gratton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Gratton.
Newspapers Published in Gratton ...
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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gratton.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gratton, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gratton.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Gratton:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Tazewell County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bland County
- Buchanan 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Gratton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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> | 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 Gratton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |