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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 Laurel Hill (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 Laurel Hill. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

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

  • Augusta County     (The home county of Laurel Hill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Hill, with the one closest to Laurel Hill listed first.
    • Verona
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Crimora
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Sampson
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Sampson is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampson
    • Fishersville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Brand
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Brand is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brand
    • Weyers Cave
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Dooms
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Dooms is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooms
    • Jolivue
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jolivue is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jolivue
    • Grottoes
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Parnassus
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Parnassus is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
    • Lipscomb
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Lipscomb is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lipscomb
    • Lyndhurst
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Churchville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Albemarle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Hill, with the one closest to Laurel Hill listed first.
    • Mountfair
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Mountfair is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountfair
    • Foothill Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Foothill Village is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foothill Village
    • Crozet
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Yancey Mills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Yancey Mills is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancey Mills
    • White Hall
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • White Hall is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
    • Batesville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Boonesville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Boonesville is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonesville
    • Cedarmere
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Cedarmere is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
    • Decca ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Decca is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decca
    • Free Union
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Ivy
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • North Garden
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Covesville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Covesville is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covesville
  • Charlottesville City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Hill, with the one closest to Laurel Hill listed first.
    • Charlottesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Locust Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Locust Grove is located in Charlottesville City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
    • Belmont
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Belmont is located in Charlottesville City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Hill, with the one closest to Laurel Hill listed first.
    • Cedarmere ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Cedarmere is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
    • Amicus
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Amicus is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amicus
    • Stanardsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Quinque
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Quinque is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinque
  • Harrisonburg City
    • Harrisonburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Highland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Hill, with the one closest to Laurel Hill listed first.
    • Palo Alto
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Palo Alto is located in Highland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palo Alto
    • McDowell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Nelson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Hill, with the one closest to Laurel Hill listed first.
    • Afton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Onan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Onan is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onan
    • Durrett Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Lodebar is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodebar
    • Nellysford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Adial
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Adial is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adial
    • Tyro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Bryant
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Bryant is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
    • Old Myndus
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Old Myndus is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Myndus
    • Faber
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jonesboro
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jonesboro is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
    • Massies Mill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Massies Mill is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massies Mill
  • Page County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Hill, with the one closest to Laurel Hill listed first.
    • Verbena
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Verbena is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbena
    • Shenandoah
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Rockbridge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Hill, with the one closest to Laurel Hill listed first.
    • Davis
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Davis is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
    • Brownsburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Fairfield is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
    • Marlbrook
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Marlbrook is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlbrook
  • Rockingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Hill, with the one closest to Laurel Hill listed first.
    • Mount Crawford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • North River
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • North River is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North River
    • Bridgewater
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Cross Keys
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Goods Mill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Goods Mill is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goods Mill
    • Dayton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • 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>
    • Spring Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Spring Creek is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
    • Montevideo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Montevideo is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montevideo
    • Rushville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Rushville is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushville
    • Massanetta Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Massanetta Springs is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massanetta Springs
    • Ottobine
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Ottobine is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottobine
    • Keezletown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • McGaheysville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Staunton City
    • Staunton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Waynesboro City
    • Waynesboro
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Pendleton County (WV)
    • Sugar Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Sugar Grove is located in Pendleton County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove

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

Cemeteries Near Laurel Hill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Laurel Hill.

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 Laurel Hill - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Belmont Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Cline Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Croft Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Bells Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Staunton National Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Mt. Marine Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Hildebrand Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Old Salem Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (341 more) ...
    • Hospital Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Mt. Bethel UMC Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Old Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)

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 Laurel Hill had a population of 25 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Annex
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Annex is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annex
  • Verona
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • New Hope
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • New Hope is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
  • Fort Defiance
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Hermitage
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Hermitage is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermitage
  • Mount Sidney
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Madrid
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Madrid is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrid
  • Brand
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Brand is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brand
  • Fishersville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Roman
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Roman is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roman
  • Sampson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Sampson is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampson
  • Harriston
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Harriston is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harriston
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Weyers Cave
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Stonewall
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Stonewall is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonewall
    • Dooms
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Dooms is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooms

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

Newspapers Published in Laurel Hill ...

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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Laurel Hill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Laurel Hill, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Laurel Hill.

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 Laurel Hill:

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- Laurel Hill) 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 Laurel Hill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.