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 McKnights Mill (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 McKnights Mill. 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 McKnights Mill ...
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.
- A typical abbreviation for McKnights Mill: McKnights Ml. (or less commonly used: McKnights Mll.)
- While the name of this community is McKnights Mill, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So McKnights Mill may originally have been McKnight's Mill.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case McKnights Mill might be written as McKnight Mill.
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 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.
McKnights Mill 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 McKnights Mill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to McKnights Mill:
- Grayson County (The home county of McKnights Mill)
- The following are listed by their distance from McKnights Mill, with the one closest to McKnights Mill listed first.
- Low Gap
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Low Gap is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Baywood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Baywood is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
- Fries
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Independence
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Elk Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bridle Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Mouth-of-Wilson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Flat Ridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Flat Ridge is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Ridge
- Rugby
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Rugby is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Trout Dale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from McKnights Mill, with the one closest to McKnights Mill listed first.
- Pipers Gap
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
- Drenn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Drenn is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
- Lambsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Woodlawn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Cana
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Fancy Gap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Sheep Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
- Hillsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Shorts Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
- Star
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Star is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Gladesboro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Gladesboro is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesboro
- Sylvatus
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
- Floyd County
- The following are listed by their distance from McKnights Mill, with the one closest to McKnights Mill listed first.
- Indian Valley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Duncan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Duncan is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Galax City
- Galax
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Patrick County
- The following are listed by their distance from McKnights Mill, with the one closest to McKnights Mill listed first.
- Ararat
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Carters Mill
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Carters Mill is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Mill
- Meadows of Dan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from McKnights Mill, with the one closest to McKnights Mill listed first.
- Draper
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Mack Creek Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mack Creek Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack Creek Village
- Smyth County
- Sugar Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from McKnights Mill, with the one closest to McKnights Mill listed first.
- Austinville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Ivanhoe
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Speedwell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Siloam
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Siloam is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Rowe Crossroads
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
- Fort Chiswell
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
- Kent
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Locust Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Crockett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Max Meadows
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Wytheville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rural Retreat
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Alleghany County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from McKnights Mill, with the one closest to McKnights Mill listed first.
- Edmonds
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Edmonds is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
- Ennice
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hooker
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Glade Valley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Roaring Gap
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Sparta
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- 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 <2>
- Amelia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Piney Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Topia
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Topia is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
- Laurel Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Scottville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Ashe County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from McKnights Mill, with the one closest to McKnights Mill listed first.
- Transou
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Transou is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transou
- Weavers Ford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Weavers Ford is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weavers Ford
- Grassy Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Crumpler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Wagoner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wagoner is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagoner
- Surry County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from McKnights Mill, with the one closest to McKnights Mill listed first.
- Low Gap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Round Peak
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Round Peak is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Peak
- Devotion
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Devotion is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devotion
- Red Brush
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Red Brush is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Brush
- Mountain Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Mountain Park is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Park
- Thurmond
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Zephyr
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Zephyr is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zephyr
- Mount Airy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Toast
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Toast is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toast
- Dobson
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- White Plains
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- White Plains is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Flat Rock
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Flat Rock is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
- State Road
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Wilkes County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from McKnights Mill, with the one closest to McKnights Mill listed first.
- Traphill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Abshers
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Abshers is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abshers
- Moxley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Moxley is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moxley
- Lomax
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Lomax is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomax
- Zebra ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Zebra is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zebra
- Springfield ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Springfield is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Pleasant Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Dehart
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dehart is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dehart
- Ronda
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- McGrady
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- McGrady is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGrady
- Hays
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Roaring River
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Roaring River is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaring River
- Brier Creek ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Brier Creek is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brier Creek
- Yadkin County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from McKnights Mill, with the one closest to McKnights Mill listed first.
- Arlington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Arlington is located in Yadkin County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Jonesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Boonville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rena
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Rena is located in Yadkin County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rena
- Swan Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Swan Creek is located in Yadkin County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Creek
- Richmond Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Richmond Hill is located in Yadkin County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Hill
- Mount Pleasant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Yadkin County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Nebo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Nebo is located in Yadkin County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebo
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to McKnights Mill, see our County-by-County Page for McKnights Mill.
Cemeteries Near McKnights Mill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of McKnights Mill.
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 McKnights Mill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for McKnights Mill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from McKnights Mill, with the one closest to McKnights Mill listed first.
- Coal Creek Memorial Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Coal Creek Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Dean Cox Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Fairview Baptist Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Trimble Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Old Quaker Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Fairlawn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Coleman Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Bishops Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Nuckolls Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Savannah Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Parish Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (649 more) ...
- Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Oakland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Painter Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
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 McKnights Mill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of McKnights Mill.
These communities are listed based on their distance from McKnights Mill, with the one closest to McKnights Mill listed first.
- Edmonds
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Edmonds is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
- Pipers Gap
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
- Ennice
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Low Gap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Drenn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Drenn is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
- Wolf Glade
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Wolf Glade is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Glade
- Lambsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Woodlawn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hooker
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Ladonia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ladonia is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladonia
- Round Peak
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Round Peak is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Peak
- Stevens Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stevens Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens Creek
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Peach Bottom
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Peach Bottom is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Bottom
- Edwards Crossroads
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Edwards Crossroads is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards Crossroads
- Carsonville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Carsonville is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carsonville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around McKnights Mill. See our List of 1890's Communities around McKnights Mill.
Newspapers Published in McKnights Mill ...
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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around McKnights Mill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of McKnights Mill, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for McKnights Mill.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 McKnights Mill:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Grayson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carroll County
- Floyd County
- Galax City
- Patrick County
- Pulaski County
- Smyth County
- Wythe County
- Alleghany County
- Ashe County
- Surry County
- Wilkes County
- Yadkin County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Virginia
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 McKnights Mill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- McKnights Mill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |