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 Key West (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 Key West. 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.
Key West is located in Albemarle 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 Albemarle County: Augusta, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson, Orange & Rockingham.
Below are the counties that are near Key West. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Key West:
- Albemarle County (The home county of Key West)
- The following are listed by their distance from Key West, with the one closest to Key West listed first.
- Monacan Town ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Monacan Town is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monacan Town
- Eastham
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Eastham is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastham
- Rio
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Rio is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio
- Commonwealth
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Commonwealth is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commonwealth
- Shadwell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Shadwell is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadwell
- Barracks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Barracks is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barracks
- Hollymead
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hollymead is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollymead
- Jefferson Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jefferson Village is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Village
- Rose Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Rose Hill is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
- Simeon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Simeon is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simeon
- Huntington Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Huntington Village is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington Village
- University Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- University Heights is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Heights
- Augusta County
- The following are listed by their distance from Key West, with the one closest to Key West listed first.
- Dooms
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Dooms is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooms
- Crimora
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Sampson
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Sampson is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampson
- Grottoes
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lyndhurst
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Fishersville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Sherando
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Sherando is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherando
- Lipscomb
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Lipscomb is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lipscomb
- Weyers Cave
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Buckingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Key West, with the one closest to Key West listed first.
- Bridgeport
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Bridgeport is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
- Centenary
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Centenary is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centenary
- New Canton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- New Canton is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Canton
- Arvonia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Axtell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Axtell is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axtell
- Glenmore
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Glenmore is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
- Manteo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Manteo is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteo
- Gold Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Gold Hill is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Hill
- Charlottesville City
- The following are listed by their distance from Key West, with the one closest to Key West listed first.
- Locust Grove
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Locust Grove is located in Charlottesville City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
- Charlottesville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Belmont
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Belmont is located in Charlottesville City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Culpeper County
- Waylands Mill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Waylands Mill is located in Culpeper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waylands Mill
- Cumberland County
- Lakeside Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lakeside Village is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside Village
- Fluvanna County
- The following are listed by their distance from Key West, with the one closest to Key West listed first.
- Lake Monticello
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Monticello is located in Fluvanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Monticello
- Antioch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Antioch is located in Fluvanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
- Nicholas
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Nicholas is located in Fluvanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholas
- Kents Store
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kents Store is located in Fluvanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kents Store
- Fork Union
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Weber City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Columbia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Goochland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Key West, with the one closest to Key West listed first.
- Caledonia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Caledonia is located in Goochland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
- Tabscott
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Tabscott is located in Goochland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabscott
- Hadensville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fife
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Key West, with the one closest to Key West listed first.
- Amicus
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Amicus is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amicus
- Quinque
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Quinque is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinque
- Dawsonville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dawsonville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawsonville
- Cedarmere ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cedarmere is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
- Stanardsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Kinderhook
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Kinderhook is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinderhook
- Louisa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Key West, with the one closest to Key West listed first.
- Medlock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Medlock is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medlock
- Meltons
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Meltons is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meltons
- Green Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Green Springs is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Springs
- Trevilians
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Trevilians is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trevilians
- Bells Crossroads
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Bells Crossroads is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells Crossroads
- Louisa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Vigor
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Vigor is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vigor
- Mineral
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pendleton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pendleton is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pendleton
- Cuckoo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Cuckoo is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuckoo
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Key West, with the one closest to Key West listed first.
- Hood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Wolftown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Aroda
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Aroda is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aroda
- Burnt Tree
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Burnt Tree is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Tree
- Radiant
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Radiant is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radiant
- Madison Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Madison Mills is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Mills
- Ruth
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Ruth is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Madison
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Syria
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Nelson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Key West, with the one closest to Key West listed first.
- Durrett Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Durrett Town is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durrett Town
- Afton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Onan
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Onan is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onan
- Faber
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Greenfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Greenfield is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Schuyler
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Lodebar
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lodebar is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodebar
- Rockfish
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Rockfish is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockfish
- Adial
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Adial is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adial
- Nellysford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Old Myndus
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Old Myndus is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Myndus
- Warminster
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Warminster is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warminster
- Orange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Key West, with the one closest to Key West listed first.
- Barboursville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gordonsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Montpelier Station
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Madison Run
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Madison Run is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Run
- Orange
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Grassland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Grassland is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassland
- Danton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Danton is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danton
- Vulcan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Vulcan is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vulcan
- Page County
- Verbena
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Verbena is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbena
- Rockingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Key West, with the one closest to Key West listed first.
- Swift Run
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Swift Run is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift Run
- Berrytown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Berrytown is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berrytown
- Elkton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- McGaheysville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Montevideo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Montevideo is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montevideo
- Goods Mill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Goods Mill is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goods Mill
- Massanutten
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cross Keys
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Waynesboro City
- Waynesboro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Key West, see our County-by-County Page for Key West.
Cemeteries Near Key West ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Key West.
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 Key West - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Key West covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Key West, with the one closest to Key West listed first.
- Moon Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Chapman Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Coles Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Griffin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Maplewood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Riverview Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Liberty Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Monticello Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Jefferson Tomb
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Monticello Graveyard
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Hildebrand Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (283 more) ...
- Munday Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lincoln Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- University Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
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 Key West in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Key West.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Key West, with the one closest to Key West listed first.
- Eastham
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Eastham is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastham
- Rio
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Rio is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio
- Proffit
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Proffit is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proffit
- Hydraulic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hydraulic is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hydraulic
- Rivanna
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Rivanna is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivanna
- Simeon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Simeon is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simeon
- Keswick
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Overton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Overton is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overton
- Earlysville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Campbell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Campbell is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- Gilbert
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Gilbert is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert
- Advance Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Advance Mills is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advance Mills
- Advance Mills has also been known as:
- Fray's Mills
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Ivy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Cobham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Cobham is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobham
- Burnley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Burnley is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnley
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Key West. See our List of 1890's Communities around Key West.
Newspapers Published in Key West ...
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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Key West.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Key West, there are papers which were published within 2 miles [3.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Key West.
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 Key West:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Albemarle County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Augusta County
- Buckingham County
- Charlottesville City
- Culpeper County
- Cumberland County
- Fluvanna County
- Goochland County
- Greene County
- Louisa County
- Madison County
- Nelson County
- Orange County
- Page County
- Rockingham County
- Waynesboro 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 Key West, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Key West) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |