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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 Graysontown (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 Graysontown. 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 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.

Graysontown is located in Montgomery 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 Montgomery County: Craig, Floyd, Giles, Pulaski & Roanoke.

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

  • Montgomery County     (The home county of Graysontown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graysontown, with the one closest to Graysontown listed first.
    • Childress
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Childress is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childress
    • Riner
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Rogers
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Rogers is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
    • Christiansburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Pilot
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Oak Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Oak Grove is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Prices Fork
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Prices Fork is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prices Fork
    • Merrimac
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Merrimac is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
    • Old Farm Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Old Farm Village is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Farm Village
    • Raintree Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Raintree Village is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raintree Village
    • Houchins
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Houchins is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houchins
    • Blacksburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Ellett
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Ellett is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellett
  • Bland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graysontown, with the one closest to Graysontown listed first.
    • Mechanicsburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
    • Bland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Carroll County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graysontown, with the one closest to Graysontown listed first.
    • Dugspur
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Sylvatus
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
    • Star
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Star is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
    • Shorts Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
    • Pike City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Pike City is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike City
    • Hillsville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Nester
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Nester is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nester
    • Gladesboro
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Gladesboro is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesboro
    • Sheep Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
    • Oak Grove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Fancy Gap
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Woodlawn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Craig County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graysontown, with the one closest to Graysontown listed first.
    • Huffman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Huffman is located in Craig County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
    • Captain
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Captain is located in Craig County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Captain
    • Simmonsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Simmonsville is located in Craig County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmonsville
  • Floyd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graysontown, with the one closest to Graysontown listed first.
    • Indian Valley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Duncan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Duncan is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
    • Sowers
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Sowers is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sowers
    • Floyd
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Poff
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Poff is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poff
    • Terrys Fork
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Terrys Fork is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrys Fork
    • Simpsons
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Simpsons is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpsons
    • Haycock
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Haycock is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haycock
    • Pizarro
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Pizarro is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pizarro
  • Franklin County
    • Algoma
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Algoma is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algoma
  • Giles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graysontown, with the one closest to Graysontown listed first.
    • Goodwins Ferry
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Goodwins Ferry is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwins Ferry
    • Poplar Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Poplar Hill is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hill
    • Eggleston
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Newport
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Newport is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
    • Pembroke
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Thessalia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Thessalia is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
    • Mountain Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Mountain Lake is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake
    • Pearisburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bluff City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Bluff City is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
    • Narrows
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Shumate
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Shumate is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
    • Kire
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Kire is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kire
    • Rich Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Patrick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graysontown, with the one closest to Graysontown listed first.
    • Meadows of Dan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Woolwine
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Charity
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Charity is located in Patrick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charity
    • Elamsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Elamsville is located in Patrick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elamsville
    • Dodson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Dodson is located in Patrick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodson
    • Ararat
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Carters Mill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Carters Mill is located in Patrick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Mill
  • Pulaski County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graysontown, with the one closest to Graysontown listed first.
    • Snowville
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Snowville is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowville
    • Fairlawn
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Fairlawn is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn
    • Dublin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Mack Creek Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Mack Creek Village is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack Creek Village
    • Newbern
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Cowan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Cowan is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
    • Wurno
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Wurno is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurno
    • Draper
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Parrott
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Parrott is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrott
    • Hilton Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Hilton Village is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
    • Pulaski
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Sassin ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Sassin is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
  • Radford City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graysontown, with the one closest to Graysontown listed first.
    • New Town
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • New Town is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
    • Radford Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Radford Village is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford Village
    • Simpkins Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Simpkins Village is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpkins Village
    • Sunset Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Sunset Village is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
    • Mill Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Mill Village is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
    • Radford
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Roanoke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graysontown, with the one closest to Graysontown listed first.
    • Bent Mountain
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Riverside
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Riverside is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
    • Wabun
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Wabun is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabun
  • Wythe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graysontown, with the one closest to Graysontown listed first.
    • Locust Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
    • Max Meadows
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Fort Chiswell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
    • Austinville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Siloam
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Siloam is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
    • Ivanhoe
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Kent
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Kent is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
    • Wytheville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Logan County (WV)
    • Rich Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Rich Creek is located in Logan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
  • Mercer County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Graysontown, with the one closest to Graysontown listed first.
    • Willowton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Willowton is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowton
    • Oakvale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Oakvale is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakvale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
  • Monroe County (WV)
    • Peterstown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Graysontown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Graysontown.

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 Graysontown - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Snowville Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Byrd Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Cecil Chapel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • West View Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • White Rock Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Bain Lawrence Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Rock Road Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Cecil Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Duncan Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Central Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Hurst Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (599 more) ...
    • Sunrise Burial Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • New River Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Morgan Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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.<3>

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

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

  • Snowville
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Snowville is located in Pulaski County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowville
  • Childress
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Childress is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childress
  • New River
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Riner
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • East Radford
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • East Radford is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Radford
  • Dublin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Newbern
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Indian Valley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Duncan
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Duncan is located in Floyd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
  • Vicker
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Vicker is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vicker
  • Draper
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Belspring
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Belspring is located in Pulaski County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belspring
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Christiansburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Allisonia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Allisonia is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allisonia
    • Churchwood ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Churchwood is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchwood

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

Newspapers Published in Graysontown ...

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 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around Graysontown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Graysontown, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Graysontown.

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 helpful 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 Graysontown:

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>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 Graysontown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 drawn from Point A (ie- Graysontown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.