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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 Newport News (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 Newport News. 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.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Newport News ...

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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Newport News.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Newport News. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Newport News and those printed in the larger area surrounding Newport News.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<1> of Newport News.

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 Newport News:

Cemeteries Near Newport News ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Newport News.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Peninsula Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Peninsula Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Peninsula Memorial Park
  • Morrison Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Morrison Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Morrison Cemetery
  • Maney Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maney Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maney Cemetery
  • New Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery
  • Hopson Gravesite
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hopson Gravesite have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hopson Gravesite
  • Smith Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Cemetery
  • Warwick River Mennonite Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Warwick River Mennonite Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Warwick River Mennonite Cemetery
  • Ebenezer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ebenezer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ebenezer Cemetery
  • Carys Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carys Cemetery
  • Potters Field Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Parklawn Memorial Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Parklawn Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Parklawn Memorial Cemetery
  • Carver Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carver Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carver Memorial Park
  • Continue List   (216 more) ...
    • Emmaus Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Emmaus Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Emmaus Cemetery
    • Hopkins Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hopkins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hopkins Cemetery
    • Mt. Olive Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olive Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olive Cemetery

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 Newport News had a population of 4,449 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Newport News had a population of 179,062 people.

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

  • Morrison
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morrison have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
    • Morrison is located in Newport News City
  • Menchville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Menchville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menchville
    • Menchville is located in Newport News City
  • Oriana
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oriana have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oriana
    • Oriana is located in Newport News City
  • Denbigh
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Denbigh have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denbigh
    • Denbigh is located in Newport News City
  • Grafton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grafton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grafton
    • Grafton is located in York County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grafton <4>
  • Rescue
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rescue
    • Rescue is located in Isle of Wight County
  • Hampton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Lee Hall
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Hall
    • Lee Hall is located in Newport News City
  • Phoebus
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phoebus
    • Phoebus is located in Hampton City
  • Smithfield
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smithfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithfield
    • Smithfield is located in Isle of Wight County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,615 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Smithfield <4>
  • Carrollton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carrollton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrollton
    • Carrollton is located in Isle of Wight County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carrollton <4>
  • Yorktown
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Gloucester Point
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gloucester Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gloucester Point
      • Gloucester Point is located in Gloucester County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gloucester Point <4>
    • Grove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove
      • Grove is located in James City County
    • Septa
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Septa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Septa
      • Septa is located in Isle of Wight County

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

The official website for Newport News: www.ci.newport-news.va.us/

The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Newport News) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Newport News. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.0883, Longitude: -76.4835    
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<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 Newport News, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024