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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 (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. 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 hospitals and 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 is located in Henrico 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 Henrico County: Charles City, Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, New Kent & Richmond.

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

  • Henrico County     (The home county of Laurel)
  • Amelia County
  • Caroline County
  • Charles City County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel, with the one closest to Laurel listed first.
    • Roxbury
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Roxbury. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
      • Roxbury is located in Charles City County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Roxbury
      • From Laurel to Roxbury
    • Kimages
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kimages. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimages
      • Kimages is located in Charles City County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kimages
      • From Laurel to Kimages
    • Westover
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Westover. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
      • Westover is located in Charles City County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Westover
      • From Laurel to Westover
  • Chesterfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel, with the one closest to Laurel listed first.
    • Bon Air
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Chesterfield Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chesterfield Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield Village
      • Chesterfield Village is located in Chesterfield County
    • Robious
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Midlothian
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Bensley Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bensley Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bensley Village
      • Bensley Village is located in Chesterfield County
    • Bensley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bensley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bensley
      • Bensley is located in Chesterfield County
    • Bellwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bellwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
      • Bellwood is located in Chesterfield County
    • Beulah Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beulah Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah Village
      • Beulah Village is located in Chesterfield County
    • Drewrys Bluff
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Otterdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Centralia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Centralia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
      • Centralia is located in Chesterfield County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Centralia
      • From Laurel to Centralia
    • Chesterfield Court House
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chesterfield Court House have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield Court House
      • Chesterfield Court House is located in Chesterfield County
  • Colonial Heights City
    • Colonial Heights
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colonial Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Heights
      • Colonial Heights is located in Colonial Heights City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,205 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colonial Heights <2>
  • Dinwiddie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel, with the one closest to Laurel listed first.
    • Grant Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grant Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Village
      • Grant Village is located in Dinwiddie County
    • Addison
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Maitland Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maitland Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maitland Village
      • Maitland Village is located in Dinwiddie County
  • Goochland County
  • Hanover County
  • Hopewell City
  • King and Queen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel, with the one closest to Laurel listed first.
    • Walkerton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Bruington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bruington. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruington
      • Bruington is located in King and Queen County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bruington
      • From Laurel to Bruington
    • Cauthornville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • King William County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel, with the one closest to Laurel listed first.
    • Enfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Enfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
      • Enfield is located in King William County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Enfield
      • From Laurel to Enfield
    • Tuck Fork
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Manquin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Rumford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rumford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rumford
      • Rumford is located in King William County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rumford
      • From Laurel to Rumford
    • Beulahville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Beulahville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulahville
      • Beulahville is located in King William County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Beulahville
      • From Laurel to Beulahville
    • Lanesville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lanesville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanesville
      • Lanesville is located in King William County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lanesville
      • From Laurel to Lanesville
  • Louisa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel, with the one closest to Laurel listed first.
    • Willowbrook
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Shelfar
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shelfar. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelfar
      • Shelfar is located in Louisa County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Shelfar
      • From Laurel to Shelfar
    • Gays ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gays have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays
      • Gays is located in Louisa County
    • Jackson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jackson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
      • Jackson is located in Louisa County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jackson
      • From Laurel to Jackson
    • Bumpass
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Harris ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harris have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
      • Harris is located in Louisa County
    • Cuckoo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • New Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel, with the one closest to Laurel listed first.
    • Tunstall
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tunstall. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunstall
      • Tunstall is located in New Kent County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tunstall
      • From Laurel to Tunstall
    • New Kent
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Petersburg City
  • Powhatan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel, with the one closest to Laurel listed first.
    • Huguenot
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Huguenot. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huguenot
      • Huguenot is located in Powhatan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Huguenot
      • From Laurel to Huguenot
    • Dorset
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dorset. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorset
      • Dorset is located in Powhatan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dorset
      • From Laurel to Dorset
    • Beaumont
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Michaux
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Michaux. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michaux
      • Michaux is located in Powhatan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Michaux
      • From Laurel to Michaux
    • Pilkinton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pilkinton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilkinton
      • Pilkinton is located in Powhatan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pilkinton
      • From Laurel to Pilkinton
    • Belona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Belona. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belona
      • Belona is located in Powhatan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Belona
      • From Laurel to Belona
  • Richmond City
  • Richmond County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel, with the one closest to Laurel listed first.
    • Chippenham Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chippenham Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippenham Village
      • Chippenham Village is located in Richmond County
    • Cherry Gardens
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Walmsley Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walmsley Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walmsley Village
      • Walmsley Village is located in Richmond County
  • Spotsylvania County

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

Cemeteries Near Laurel ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Laurel.

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 Laurel covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Laurel had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Glen Allen
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Dumbarton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • French Hay
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for French Hay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Hay
    • French Hay is located in Hanover County
  • Westham
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westham
    • Westham is located in Henrico County
  • Brook Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brook Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brook Hill
    • Brook Hill is located in Henrico County
  • Erin Shades
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erin Shades have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin Shades
    • Erin Shades is located in Henrico County
  • Atlee Station
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Ellerson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellerson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerson
    • Ellerson is located in Hanover County
  • Ashcake
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashcake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcake
    • Ashcake is located in Hanover County
  • Gayton ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gayton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gayton
    • Gayton is located in Henrico County
  • Lorraine
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Farrington
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farrington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrington
    • Farrington is located in Hanover County
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Laurel ...

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 461 newspapers that have been published in the area around Laurel.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Laurel, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Laurel.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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:

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

The official website for Henrico County: www.co.henrico.va.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Laurel) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Laurel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.6432, Longitude: -77.5091    
<5>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.
<6>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, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025