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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 Kellys Ford (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 Kellys Ford. 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.

Name Variations for Kellys Ford ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

  • A typical abbreviation for Kellys Ford: Kellys Frd.
  • While the name of this community is Kellys Ford, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Kellys Ford may originally have been Kelly's Ford.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Kellys Ford might be written as Kelly Ford.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

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 south 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.

Kellys Ford is primarily located in Culpeper County. A portion of Kellys Ford extends into Fauquier County.

To see how the shape of Virginia's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Culpeper County: Fauquier, Madison, Orange, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania & Stafford.

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

  • Culpeper County     (The home county of Kellys Ford)
  • Caroline County
  • Fairfax County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kellys Ford, with the one closest to Kellys Ford listed first.
    • Clifton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clifton have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
      • Clifton is located in Fairfax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 301 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clifton <2>
    • London Towne
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for London Towne have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for London Towne
      • London Towne is located in Fairfax County
  • Fauquier County
  • Fredericksburg City
  • King George County
    • Fairview Beach
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairview Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Beach
      • Fairview Beach is located in King George County
  • Madison County
  • Manassas City
  • Manassas Park City
    • Manassas Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manassas Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manassas Park
      • Manassas Park is located in Manassas Park City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,004 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manassas Park <2>
  • Orange County
  • Prince William County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kellys Ford, with the one closest to Kellys Ford listed first.
    • Aden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Nokesville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Combat Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Combat Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combat Village
      • Combat Village is located in Prince William County
    • Kopp
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kopp have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kopp
      • Kopp is located in Prince William County
    • Locust Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Bristow
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Joplin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Broad Run Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Broad Run Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broad Run Village
      • Broad Run Village is located in Prince William County
    • Linton Hall
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Linton Hall have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linton Hall
      • Linton Hall is located in Prince William County
    • Gainesville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gainesville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gainesville
      • Gainesville is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gainesville <2>
    • Canova
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Canova. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canova
      • Canova is located in Prince William County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Canova
      • From Kellys Ford to Canova
    • Bataan Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bataan Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bataan Village
      • Bataan Village is located in Prince William County
  • Rappahannock County
  • Spotsylvania County
  • Stafford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kellys Ford, with the one closest to Kellys Ford listed first.
    • Cropp
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Storck
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Hartwood Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartwood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartwood Village
      • Hartwood Village is located in Stafford County
    • Hartwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Stafford Lakes Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stafford Lakes Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stafford Lakes Village
      • Stafford Lakes Village is located in Stafford County
    • Berea
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berea. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berea
      • Berea is located in Stafford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Berea
      • From Kellys Ford to Berea
    • King James Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for King James Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King James Village
      • King James Village is located in Stafford County
    • Meadowood Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadowood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowood Village
      • Meadowood Village is located in Stafford County
    • Canterbury Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Canterbury Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canterbury Village
      • Canterbury Village is located in Stafford County
    • Stafford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Falmouth
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Falmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
      • Falmouth is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Falmouth <2>
    • Northridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Charles County (MD)
    • Nanjemoy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nanjemoy have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nanjemoy
      • Nanjemoy is located in Charles County (MD)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nanjemoy <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Kellys Ford ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kellys Ford.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Embry Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Embry Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Embry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lael Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lael Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lael Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Perrowville Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Perrowville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Perrowville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hollywood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hollywood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hollywood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. James Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. James Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. James Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cedar Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Midland Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Midland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Midland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pilgrim Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pilgrim Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pilgrim Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Midland Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Midland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Midland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Pisgah Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Zoar Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zoar Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zoar Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Elys Ford Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elys Ford Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elys Ford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (183 more) ...
    • Beech Grove Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beech Grove Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beech Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Briggs - McDonald Family Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Briggs - McDonald Family Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Briggs - McDonald Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Masonic Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Masonic Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Masonic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Kellys Ford had a population of 38 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Sumerduck
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sumerduck have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumerduck
    • Sumerduck is located in Fauquier County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sumerduck <2>
  • Lignum
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Morrisville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morrisville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisville
    • Morrisville is located in Fauquier County
  • Pine View
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine View have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine View
    • Pine View is located in Fauquier County
  • Stevensburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stevensburg have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevensburg
    • Stevensburg is located in Culpeper County
  • Richardsville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richardsville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardsville
    • Richardsville is located in Culpeper County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richardsville <2>
  • Brandy Station
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandy Station have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy Station
    • Brandy Station is located in Culpeper County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brandy Station <2>
  • Indian Town
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Town have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Town
    • Indian Town is located in Orange County
  • Bealeton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Elk Run
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elk Run have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Run
    • Elk Run is located in Fauquier County
  • Midland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Opal
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Alanthus
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alanthus have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alanthus
      • Alanthus is located in Culpeper County
    • Burr Hill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Wilderness
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Kellys Ford ...

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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kellys Ford.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kellys Ford, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Kellys Ford.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Kellys Ford:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Kellys Ford. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Culpeper County: www.culpepercounty.gov/

The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<5>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 Kellys Ford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Kellys Ford) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Kellys Ford. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.4772, Longitude: -77.7828       In this case, the coordinates for Kellys Ford have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025