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 Mount Airy (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 Mount Airy. 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 Mount Airy ...
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 Mount Airy: Mt. Airy
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Mount Airy. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Mount Airy.
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 hospitals 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.
Mount Airy is located in Bedford 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 Bedford County: Amherst, Botetourt, Campbell, Franklin, Pittsylvania, Roanoke & Rockbridge.
Below are the counties that are near Mount Airy. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mount Airy:
- Bedford County (The home county of Mount Airy)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Airy, with the one closest to Mount Airy listed first.
- Huddleston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Davis Mill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Davis Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Mill
- Radford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Radford is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford
- Moneta
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Joppa Mill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
- Clevilas ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clevilas is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clevilas
- Bellevue
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Bellevue is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Goode
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Lowry
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Goodview
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Forest
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Chamblissburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Chamblissburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamblissburg
- Coonsville ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Coonsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
- Amherst County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Airy, with the one closest to Mount Airy listed first.
- Madison Heights
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Joshua Falls
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Joshua Falls is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joshua Falls
- Winesap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Winesap is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Appomattox County
- Spring Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Spring Mills is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Mills
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Botetourt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Airy, with the one closest to Mount Airy listed first.
- Blue Ridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Laymantown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Laymantown is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laymantown
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Airy, with the one closest to Mount Airy listed first.
- Leesville
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Leesville is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Lynch Station
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lynch Station is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Station
- Altavista
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bedford Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Yellow Branch
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
- Lawyers
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lawyers is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
- Timberlake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Powhatan
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Powhatan is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
- Gladys
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Melrose
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Melrose is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Rustburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Zion
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Mount Zion is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Brookneal
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Airy, with the one closest to Mount Airy listed first.
- North Shore
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- North Shore is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shore
- Penhook
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hales Ford ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Hales Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Ford
- Westlake Corner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Westlake Corner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake Corner
- Union Hall
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Laprades Mill
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Laprades Mill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laprades Mill
- Felicia ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Felicia is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felicia
- Burnt Chimney
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Burnt Chimney is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Chimney
- Redwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Redwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Villa ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Villa is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa
- Rocky Mount
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Gogginsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Gogginsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gogginsville
- Barfoot
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Barfoot is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfoot
- Halifax County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Airy, with the one closest to Mount Airy listed first.
- Cody
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cody is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cody
- Leda
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Leda is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leda
- Sign Rock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sign Rock is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sign Rock
- Rodden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rodden is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodden
- Rabat
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Rabat is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabat
- Loftis
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Loftis is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loftis
- Nathalie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lynchburg City
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Airy, with the one closest to Mount Airy listed first.
- Woodbine Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Lynchburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lavino Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Madison County
- Beaver Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Beaver Park is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Park
- Pittsylvania County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Airy, with the one closest to Mount Airy listed first.
- Hurt
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Hurt is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hurt <1>
- Pittsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Pittsville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsville
- Gretna
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Brutus
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brutus is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brutus
- Chalk Level
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Chalk Level is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalk Level
- Renan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Renan is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renan
- Whittles
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Whittles is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittles
- Whittles has also been known as:
- Whittle's Depot
- Whittle's Station
- Sonans
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Sonans is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonans
- Museville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Museville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Museville
- Sheva
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Sheva is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheva
- Markham
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Markham is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markham
- Chatham
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Chatham is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,413 people
- Riceville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Riceville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riceville
- Roanoke City
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Airy, with the one closest to Mount Airy listed first.
- Garden City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Garden City is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Buena Vista
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Buena Vista is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Roanoke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Airy, with the one closest to Mount Airy listed first.
- Montgomery Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Montgomery Village is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
- Vinton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Mount Airy, see our County-by-County Page for Mount Airy.
Cemeteries Near Mount Airy ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mount Airy.
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 Mount Airy - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Mount Airy covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Mount Airy, with the one closest to Mount Airy listed first.
- Old Bethany Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Stone Road Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Leftwich Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Independence Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Green Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Green Lawn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- New Prospect Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mt. Hermon Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Vaughn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Morgan Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Thomas Chapel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Bohn / Cundiff Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (554 more) ...
- Staunton Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- New Bethel Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Altavista Memorial Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
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 Mount Airy in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Mount Airy.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Mount Airy, with the one closest to Mount Airy listed first.
- Leesville
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Leesville is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Motley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Motley is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motley
- Brights
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Brights is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brights
- Dundee
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Dundee is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
- Lynch Station
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lynch Station is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Station
- Fancy Grove ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fancy Grove is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Grove
- Gillespie
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Gillespie is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillespie
- Pittsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Pittsville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsville
- Chestnut Fork
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Chestnut Fork is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Fork
- Otter View ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Otter View is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter View
- Kasey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Kasey is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kasey
- Hill Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Hill Grove is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Grove
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Otter Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Otter Hill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Hill
- Toshes
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Toshes is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toshes
- Brutus
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brutus is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brutus
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Mount Airy. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mount Airy.
Newspapers Published in Mount Airy ...
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 12 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mount Airy.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mount Airy, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mount Airy.
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 Mount Airy:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Bedford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Amherst County
- Appomattox County
- Bedford City
- Botetourt County
- Campbell County
- Franklin County
- Halifax County
- Lynchburg City
- Madison County
- Pittsylvania County
- Roanoke City
- Roanoke 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> | 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- Mount Airy) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Mount Airy, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |