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 Murat (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 Murat. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Murat is located in Rockbridge 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 Rockbridge County: Alleghany, Amherst, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt & Nelson.
Below are the counties that are near Murat. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Murat:
- Rockbridge County (The home county of Murat)
- The following are listed by their distance from Murat, with the one closest to Murat listed first.
- Zollman ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
- Fancy Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- East Lexington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
- Buffalo Forge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Kerrs Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Kerrs Creek is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerrs Creek
- Red Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
- Natural Bridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Springfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Springfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Glasgow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Greenlee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Riverside
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Murat, with the one closest to Murat listed first.
- Griffith
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Griffith is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffith
- Iron Gate
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Iron Gate is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
- Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
- Clifton Forge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Selma
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Selma is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Low Moor
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Rich Patch
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Rich Patch is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Patch
- Amherst County
- The following are listed by their distance from Murat, with the one closest to Murat listed first.
- Alto
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Alto is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Allwood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Allwood is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
- Forks of Buffalo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
- Pleasant View
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Pedlar Mills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Sandidges
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Sandidges is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
- Lowesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Monitor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Monitor is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- Coolwell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Coolwell is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
- Sweet Briar Station
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
- Winesap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Winesap is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Amherst
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Augusta County
- The following are listed by their distance from Murat, with the one closest to Murat listed first.
- Newport
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Newport is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Steeles Tavern
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Spottswood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Spottswood is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spottswood
- Craigsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Greenville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pond Gap ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pond Gap is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Gap
- Marble Valley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Marble Valley is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble Valley
- Middlebrook
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Chapin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Chapin is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin
- Bath County
- The following are listed by their distance from Murat, with the one closest to Murat listed first.
- Millboro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Yost
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Yost is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yost
- Bath Alum
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Bath Alum is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath Alum
- Carloover
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Carloover is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carloover
- Healing Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Healing Springs is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Healing Springs
- Mitchelltown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mitchelltown is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchelltown
- Warm Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Lewis ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Fort Lewis is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lewis
- Cowardin ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cowardin is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowardin
- Greenwood ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Greenwood is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Burnsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Burnsville is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnsville
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Murat, with the one closest to Murat listed first.
- Waugh
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Waugh is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Coleman Falls
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
- Peaksville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Abert
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Abert is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
- Cifax
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Boonsboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
- Bellevue
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Bellevue is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Goode
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lowry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Montvale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Villamont
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Villamont is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villamont
- Forest
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Botetourt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Murat, with the one closest to Murat listed first.
- Rocky Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
- Salt Petre Cave
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Salt Petre Cave is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Petre Cave
- Salt Petre Cave has also been known as:
- Salt Peter Cave
- Saltpetre
- Salisbury
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Gala
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Gala is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gala
- Glen Wilton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Glen Wilton is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Wilton
- Buchanan
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Haden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Haden is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
- Springwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Strom
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Strom is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strom
- Botetourt ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Lithia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Fincastle
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Buena Vista City
- Buena Vista
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Covington City
- Covington
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Lexington City
- Lexington
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Lynchburg City
- The following are listed by their distance from Murat, with the one closest to Murat listed first.
- Lavino Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Woodbine Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Nelson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Murat, with the one closest to Murat listed first.
- Massies Mill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Massies Mill is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massies Mill
- Tyro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Jonesboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Jonesboro is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Murat, see our County-by-County Page for Murat.
Cemeteries Near Murat ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Murat.
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 Murat - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Murat covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Murat, with the one closest to Murat listed first.
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Oxford Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Mt. Moreland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Moreland Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Moreland Cemetery is located
- The Mt. Moreland Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mt. Moreland Methodist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1983694 <2>
- Miller Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Collierstown Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Falling Spring Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oak Grove Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Lexington.
- The Oak Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Presbyterian Cemetery
- Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2158181 <2>
- Old Monmouth Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Pullen Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Deacons Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (171 more) ...
- Mt. Lidia Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wesley Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Rockbridge Memorial Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Murat had a population of 23 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Murat, with the one closest to Murat listed first.
- Zollman ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
- Oakdale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Oakdale is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Fancy Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Collierstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Collierstown is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collierstown
- Buffalo Forge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- East Lexington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
- Rapps Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rapps Mill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapps Mill
- South River
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- South River is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South River
- Natural Bridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Glasgow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Denmark
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Denmark is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Gilmore Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Gilmore Mills is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore Mills
- Balcony Falls
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Balcony Falls is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balcony Falls
- Riverside
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Murat. See our List of 1890's Communities around Murat.
Newspapers Published in Murat ...
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 59 newspapers that have been published in the area around Murat.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Murat, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Murat.
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 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 Murat:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Rockbridge County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alleghany County
- Amherst County
- Augusta County
- Bath County
- Bedford City
- Bedford County
- Botetourt County
- Buena Vista City
- Covington City
- Lexington City
- Lynchburg City
- Nelson 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 Murat, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Murat) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |