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 Irving (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 Irving. 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.
Irving is located in Bedford 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 Bedford County: Amherst, Botetourt, Campbell, Franklin, Pittsylvania, Roanoke & Rockbridge.
Below are the counties that are near Irving. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Irving:
- Bedford County (The home county of Irving)
- The following are listed by their distance from Irving, with the one closest to Irving listed first.
- Montvale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Coonsville ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Coonsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
- Villamont
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Villamont is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villamont
- Peaksville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Chamblissburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Chamblissburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamblissburg
- Joppa Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
- Clevilas ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Clevilas is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clevilas
- Goodview
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Davis Mill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Davis Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Mill
- Moneta
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Lowry
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Cifax
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Goode
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Alleghany County
- Rich Patch
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rich Patch is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Patch
- Amherst County
- The following are listed by their distance from Irving, with the one closest to Irving listed first.
- Pedlar Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Pleasant View
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Winesap
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Winesap is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Madison Heights
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Botetourt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Irving, with the one closest to Irving listed first.
- Blue Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Lithia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Laymantown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Laymantown is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laymantown
- Buchanan
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Troutville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Botetourt ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Apple Tree Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Apple Tree Village is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Tree Village
- Cloverdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Runaway Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Runaway Village is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runaway Village
- Springwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Amsterdam
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Amsterdam is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsterdam
- Daleville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Fincastle
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Irving, with the one closest to Irving listed first.
- Bedford Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Timberlake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Leesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Leesville is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Powhatan
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Powhatan is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
- Lawyers
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lawyers is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
- Lynch Station
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lynch Station is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Station
- Altavista
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Yellow Branch
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
- Craig County
- The following are listed by their distance from Irving, with the one closest to Irving listed first.
- Abbott
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Abbott is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- New Castle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Irving, with the one closest to Irving listed first.
- Hales Ford ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Hales Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Ford
- Westlake Corner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Westlake Corner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake Corner
- North Shore
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- North Shore is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shore
- Burnt Chimney
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Burnt Chimney is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Chimney
- Felicia ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Felicia is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felicia
- Villa ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Villa is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa
- Boones Mill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Union Hall
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Redwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Redwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Penhook
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Gogginsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Gogginsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gogginsville
- Rocky Mount
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hickman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hickman is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
- Lynchburg City
- The following are listed by their distance from Irving, with the one closest to Irving listed first.
- Woodbine Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Lavino Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Lynchburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pittsylvania County
- The following are listed by their distance from Irving, with the one closest to Irving listed first.
- Hurt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hurt is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hurt <1>
- Pittsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pittsville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsville
- Roanoke City
- The following are listed by their distance from Irving, with the one closest to Irving listed first.
- Buena Vista
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Buena Vista is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Garden City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Roanoke
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Roanoke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Irving, with the one closest to Irving listed first.
- Montgomery Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Montgomery Village is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
- Vinton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hollins
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Cave Spring
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cave Spring is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
- Hanging Rock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hanging Rock is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanging Rock
- Mason Cove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Mason Cove is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Cove
- Catawba
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Moomaw ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Moomaw is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moomaw
- Wabun
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Wabun is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabun
- Bent Mountain
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Riverside is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Rockbridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Irving, with the one closest to Irving listed first.
- Springfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Springfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Greenlee
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Natural Bridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Red Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
- Glasgow
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fancy Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Buffalo Forge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Zollman ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
- Salem City
- The following are listed by their distance from Irving, with the one closest to Irving listed first.
- Sunset Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Sunset Village is located in Salem City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Salem
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Irving, see our County-by-County Page for Irving.
Cemeteries Near Irving ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Irving.
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 Irving - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Irving covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Irving, with the one closest to Irving listed first.
- Tate Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Rose Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Shady Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Giles Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Gray Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Lawhorn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Wheeler Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wheeler Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Simmons Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Foutz Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- St. Clair Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (581 more) ...
- New Hope Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Bond Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Otey Street Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
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 Irving in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Irving.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Irving, with the one closest to Irving listed first.
- Coonsville ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Coonsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
- Thaxton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Thaxton is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thaxton
- Montvale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Reba
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Reba is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reba
- Robertsons ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Robertsons is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robertsons
- Chamblissburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Chamblissburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamblissburg
- Peaksville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Blue Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Bunker Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bunker Hill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
- Bedford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Stewartsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Stewartsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartsville
- Lithia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Bonsack
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bonsack is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonsack
- Goodview
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Clevilas ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Clevilas is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clevilas
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Irving. See our List of 1890's Communities around Irving.
Newspapers Published in Irving ...
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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Irving.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Irving, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Irving.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Irving:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Bedford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alleghany County
- Amherst County
- Bedford City
- Botetourt County
- Campbell County
- Craig County
- Franklin County
- Lynchburg City
- Pittsylvania County
- Roanoke City
- Roanoke County
- Rockbridge County
- Salem City
- 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> | 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 Irving, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Irving) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |