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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 Martins Siding (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 Martins Siding. 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 Martins Siding ...

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.

While the name of this community is Martins Siding, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Martins Siding may originally have been Martin's Siding.

Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Martins Siding might be written as Martin Siding.

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 doctors and 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.

Martins Siding is located in Northampton County.

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

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

  • Northampton County     (The home county of Martins Siding)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martins Siding, with the one closest to Martins Siding listed first.
    • Machipongo
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Bridgetown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Bridgetown is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgetown
    • Birdsnest
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Sheps End
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Sheps End is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheps End
    • Eastville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Marionville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Marionville is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marionville
    • Nassawadox
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pat Town
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Pat Town is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pat Town
    • Cheriton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Cherrystone
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Cherrystone is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrystone
    • Jamesville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jamesville is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
    • Bayview
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Bayview is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview
  • Accomack County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martins Siding, with the one closest to Martins Siding listed first.
    • Belle Haven
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Savage Town
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Savage Town is located in Accomack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage Town
    • Cats Bridge
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Cats Bridge is located in Accomack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cats Bridge
    • Painter
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Keller
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Locust Mount
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Locust Mount is located in Accomack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Mount
    • Wachapreague
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Crockett Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Crockett Town is located in Accomack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crockett Town
    • Melfa
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Locustville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Onancock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Onley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Gloucester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martins Siding, with the one closest to Martins Siding listed first.
    • Rowes Haven
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Rowes Haven is located in Gloucester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowes Haven
    • Achilles
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Achilles is located in Gloucester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Achilles
    • North
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Lancaster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martins Siding, with the one closest to Martins Siding listed first.
    • Westland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Westland is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westland
    • Ocran
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Ocran is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocran
  • Mathews County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martins Siding, with the one closest to Martins Siding listed first.
    • Diggs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • New Point
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Onemo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Onemo is located in Mathews County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onemo
    • Peary
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Peary is located in Mathews County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peary
    • Beaverlett
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Beaverlett is located in Mathews County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverlett
    • Mathews
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Ruff
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Ruff is located in Mathews County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruff
    • Susan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Susan is located in Mathews County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Susan
    • Cardinal
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Cardinal is located in Mathews County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardinal
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Martins Siding, with the one closest to Martins Siding listed first.
    • Stingray Point
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Stingray Point is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stingray Point
    • Sandy Bottom ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Sandy Bottom is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Bottom
    • Amburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Amburg is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amburg
    • Wilton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Wilton is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
  • Poquoson City
    • Poquoson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Martins Siding ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Martins Siding.

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 Martins Siding - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Allen Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Holland Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Whitehead Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Cape Charles Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Phillips Place Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Tomb of Custin
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Belle Haven Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • McLane Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Pungoteague Community Church Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Major Doughty Gravesite
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Deal Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Knight Burial Ground
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (75 more) ...
    • Owens - Parker Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • John Forrest Grave
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Morgan Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 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.<4>

While we didn't find Martins Siding in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Martins Siding.

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

  • Shadyside
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Shadyside is located in Northampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadyside
  • Machipongo
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Bridgetown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Bridgetown is located in Northampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgetown
  • Eastville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Birdsnest
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Marionville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Marionville is located in Northampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marionville
  • Nassawadox
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Franktown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Cherrystone
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Cherrystone is located in Northampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrystone
  • Bayview
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Bayview is located in Northampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview
  • Jamesville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jamesville is located in Northampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
  • Seaview
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Seaview is located in Northampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seaview
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Hadlock
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Hadlock is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hadlock
    • Cape Charles
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Wardtown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Wardtown is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wardtown

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

Newspapers Published in Martins Siding ...

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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Martins Siding.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Martins Siding, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Martins Siding.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Martins Siding:

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>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 Martins Siding, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Martins Siding) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.