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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 Harriston (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 Harriston. 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 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.

Harriston 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 Harriston. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Harriston:

  • Augusta County     (The home county of Harriston)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harriston, with the one closest to Harriston listed first.
    • Grottoes
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Sampson
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Sampson is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampson
    • Crimora
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Weyers Cave
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Dooms
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Dooms is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooms
    • Verona
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Fishersville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Brand
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Brand is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brand
    • Jolivue
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jolivue is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jolivue
    • Lyndhurst
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Lipscomb
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Lipscomb is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lipscomb
    • Mount Solon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Parnassus
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Parnassus is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
  • Albemarle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harriston, with the one closest to Harriston listed first.
    • Mountfair
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Mountfair is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountfair
    • Foothill Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Foothill Village is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foothill Village
    • White Hall
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • White Hall is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
    • Boonesville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Boonesville is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonesville
    • Crozet
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Cedarmere
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Cedarmere is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
    • Yancey Mills
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Yancey Mills is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancey Mills
    • Decca ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Decca is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decca
    • Free Union
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Batesville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Ivy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Logan Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Logan Village is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Village
    • Earlysville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Charlottesville City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harriston, with the one closest to Harriston listed first.
    • Belmont
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Belmont is located in Charlottesville City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
    • Charlottesville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Locust Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Locust Grove is located in Charlottesville City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harriston, with the one closest to Harriston listed first.
    • Cedarmere ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Cedarmere is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
    • Amicus
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Amicus is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amicus
    • Stanardsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Quinque
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Quinque is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinque
    • Kinderhook
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Kinderhook is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinderhook
    • Dawsonville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Dawsonville is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawsonville
  • Harrisonburg City
    • Harrisonburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harriston, with the one closest to Harriston listed first.
    • Hood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Wolftown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Ruth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Ruth is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
  • Nelson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harriston, with the one closest to Harriston listed first.
    • Afton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Onan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Onan is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onan
    • Durrett Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Durrett Town is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durrett Town
    • Greenfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Greenfield is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
    • Lodebar
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Lodebar is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodebar
    • Nellysford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Adial
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Adial is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adial
    • Faber
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Old Myndus
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Old Myndus is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Myndus
    • Tyro
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Bryant
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Bryant is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
    • Rockfish
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Rockfish is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockfish
    • Schuyler
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Orange County
  • Page County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harriston, with the one closest to Harriston listed first.
    • Shenandoah
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Verbena
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Verbena is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbena
    • Stanley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Rockingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harriston, with the one closest to Harriston listed first.
    • Goods Mill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Goods Mill is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goods Mill
    • Cross Keys
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Montevideo
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Montevideo is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montevideo
    • North River
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • North River is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North River
    • McGaheysville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Crawford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Massanetta Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Massanetta Springs is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massanetta Springs
    • Keezletown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Bridgewater
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Massanutten
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Berrytown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Berrytown is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berrytown
    • Dayton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 <1>
    • Rushville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Rushville is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushville
  • Shenandoah County
    • New Market
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Staunton City
    • Staunton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Waynesboro City
    • Waynesboro
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Harriston ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Harriston.

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

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

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

  • Mt. Bethel UMC Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Old Forge Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Edgewood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Old Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Mt. Moriah UMC Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Crawford Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Mace Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Cash Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Central Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Cemetery
    • The Central Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Port Republic Old Presbyterian Church Cemetery
  • Port Republic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Pleasant Valley Church Of The Brethren Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (390 more) ...
    • St. Paul Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hildebrand Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sellers Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)

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 Harriston had a population of 21 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Sampson
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Sampson is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampson
  • New Hope
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • New Hope is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
  • Madrid
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Madrid is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrid
  • Port Republic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Hermitage
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hermitage is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermitage
  • Weyers Cave
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Laurel Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Laurel Hill is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
  • Dooms
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Dooms is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooms
  • Lynnwood
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lynnwood is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood
  • Mount Sidney
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Fort Defiance
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Goods Mill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Goods Mill is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goods Mill
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Annex
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Annex is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annex
    • Friedens
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Friedens is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friedens
    • Cross Keys
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Harriston ...

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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Harriston.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Harriston, 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 Harriston.

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 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 Harriston:

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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Harriston) 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 Harriston, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.