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 Lower Elk Creek (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 Lower Elk Creek. 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 Lower Elk Creek ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Lower Elk Creek: Lower Elk Crk. (or less commonly used: Lower Elk Ck. or Lower Elk Cr.)
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 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.
Lower Elk Creek is located in Grayson 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 Grayson County: Alleghany (NC), Ashe (NC), Surry (NC), Johnson (TN), Carroll, Smyth, Washington & Wythe.
Below are the counties that are near Lower Elk Creek. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lower Elk Creek:
- Grayson County (The home county of Lower Elk Creek)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lower Elk Creek, with the one closest to Lower Elk Creek listed first.
- Elk Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Independence
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Bridle Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Fries
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Baywood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Baywood is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
- Flat Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Flat Ridge is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Ridge
- Mouth-of-Wilson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Trout Dale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Low Gap
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Low Gap is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Rugby
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rugby is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Whitetop
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Bland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lower Elk Creek, with the one closest to Lower Elk Creek listed first.
- Bland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Bastian
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lower Elk Creek, with the one closest to Lower Elk Creek listed first.
- Oak Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Sheep Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
- Pipers Gap
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
- Woodlawn
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Shorts Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
- Drenn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Drenn is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
- Hillsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Lambsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Sylvatus
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
- Star
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Star is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Fancy Gap
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Cana
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Galax City
- Galax
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Pulaski County
- Draper
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lower Elk Creek, with the one closest to Lower Elk Creek listed first.
- Sugar Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Atkins
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Carmel
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Marion
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Adwolf
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Adwolf is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adwolf
- Ellendale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ellendale is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Seven Mile Ford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Seven Mile Ford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Mile Ford
- Chilhowie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Tazewell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lower Elk Creek, with the one closest to Lower Elk Creek listed first.
- Little Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Little Town is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
- Asberrys
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Asberrys is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asberrys
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lower Elk Creek, with the one closest to Lower Elk Creek listed first.
- Green Cove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Green Cove is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Cove
- Loves Mill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Loves Mill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loves Mill
- Masada
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Masada is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masada
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lower Elk Creek, with the one closest to Lower Elk Creek listed first.
- Speedwell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Rowe Crossroads
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
- Crockett
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Ivanhoe
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rural Retreat
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wytheville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Austinville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kent
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Siloam
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Siloam is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Fort Chiswell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
- Locust Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Max Meadows
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Alleghany County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lower Elk Creek, with the one closest to Lower Elk Creek listed first.
- Amelia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Piney Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sparta
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Sparta is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,723 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sparta <1>
- Ennice
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Edmonds
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Edmonds is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
- Hooker
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Topia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Topia is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
- Glade Valley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Scottville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Roaring Gap
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Ashe County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lower Elk Creek, with the one closest to Lower Elk Creek listed first.
- Grassy Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Weavers Ford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Weavers Ford is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weavers Ford
- Crumpler
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Helton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Helton is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helton
- Sturgills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sturgills is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgills
- Transou
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Transou is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transou
- Brandon
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Brandon is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
- Lansing
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Wagoner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Wagoner is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagoner
- Apple Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Apple Grove is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Jefferson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Orion
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Orion is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
- Surry County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lower Elk Creek, with the one closest to Lower Elk Creek listed first.
- Low Gap
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Devotion
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Devotion is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devotion
- Round Peak
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Round Peak is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Peak
- Thurmond
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Park is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Park
- Red Brush
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Red Brush is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Brush
- Zephyr
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Zephyr is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zephyr
- Wilkes County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lower Elk Creek, with the one closest to Lower Elk Creek listed first.
- Abshers
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Abshers is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abshers
- Springfield ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Springfield is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Moxley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Moxley is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moxley
- McGrady
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- McGrady is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGrady
- Traphill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Dehart
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Dehart is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dehart
- Zebra ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Zebra is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zebra
- Lomax
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lomax is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomax
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Lower Elk Creek, see our County-by-County Page for Lower Elk Creek.
Cemeteries Near Lower Elk Creek ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lower Elk Creek.
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 Lower Elk Creek - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lower Elk Creek covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lower Elk Creek, with the one closest to Lower Elk Creek listed first.
- Hale Family Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- William Cornett Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Summerfield UMC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jerusalem Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cornett Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Shuler Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Harrington Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Independence Town Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Cornett Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Ross Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (620 more) ...
- Speedwell Methodist Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Saddle Creek Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Benjamin Moore Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
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 Lower Elk Creek in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Lower Elk Creek.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Lower Elk Creek, with the one closest to Lower Elk Creek listed first.
- Elk Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Fallville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fallville is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallville
- Comers Rock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Comers Rock is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comers Rock
- Carsonville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Carsonville is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carsonville
- Spring Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Spring Valley is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Independence
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Speedwell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Bridle Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Stevens Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Stevens Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens Creek
- Cripple Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cripple Creek is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cripple Creek
- Fox
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fox is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox
- Peach Bottom
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Peach Bottom is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Bottom
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Flat Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Flat Ridge is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Ridge
- Amelia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Grayson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Grayson is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Lower Elk Creek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lower Elk Creek.
Newspapers Published in Lower Elk Creek ...
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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lower Elk Creek.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lower Elk Creek, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lower Elk Creek.
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 Lower Elk Creek:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Grayson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bland County
- Carroll County
- Galax City
- Pulaski County
- Smyth County
- Tazewell County
- Washington County
- Wythe County
- Alleghany County
- Ashe County
- Surry County
- Wilkes County
- 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 Lower Elk Creek, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Lower Elk Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |