RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Rockingham County >> Oakwood >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Oakwood (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 Oakwood. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.

Oakwood is located in Rockingham 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 Rockingham County: Albemarle, Augusta, Greene, Page, Shenandoah, Hardy (WV) & Pendleton (WV).

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

  • Rockingham County     (The home county of Oakwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
    • Lacey Spring
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Lacey Spring is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey Spring
    • Melrose
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Melrose is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
    • Mayland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Mayland is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayland
    • Daphna
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Daphna is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daphna
    • Linville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Linville is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linville
    • Broadway
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Massanutten
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Edom
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Edom is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edom
    • Plains Mill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Plains Mill is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plains Mill
    • Timberville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Keezletown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Cherry Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Cherry Grove is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Grove
    • Elkton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Elkton is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,914 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elkton <1>
  • Albemarle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
    • Cedarmere
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Cedarmere is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
    • Boonesville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Boonesville is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonesville
    • Mountfair
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Mountfair is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountfair
    • Free Union
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • White Hall
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • White Hall is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
    • Advance Mills Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Advance Mills Village is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advance Mills Village
    • Advance Mills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Advance Mills is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advance Mills
      • Advance Mills has also been known as:
      • Fray's Mills
    • Earlysville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Decca ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Decca is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decca
    • Foothill Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Foothill Village is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foothill Village
    • Logan Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Logan Village is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Village
  • Augusta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
    • Grottoes
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Weyers Cave
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Solon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Sampson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Sampson is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampson
    • Stokesville ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Stokesville is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokesville
    • Crimora
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Parnassus
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Parnassus is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
    • Verona
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Dooms
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Dooms is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooms
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
    • Kinderhook
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Kinderhook is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinderhook
    • Cedarmere ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Cedarmere is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
    • Stanardsville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Amicus
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Amicus is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amicus
    • Quinque
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Quinque is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinque
    • Dawsonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Dawsonville is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawsonville
  • Harrisonburg City
    • Harrisonburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
    • Syria
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Hood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Wolftown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Ruth
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Ruth is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
    • Peola Mills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Peola Mills is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peola Mills
    • Madison
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Tryme
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Tryme is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tryme
    • Aroda
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Aroda is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aroda
  • Page County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
    • Shenandoah
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Verbena
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Verbena is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbena
    • Stanley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Leaksville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Leaksville is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaksville
    • Marksville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Marksville is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marksville
    • Luray
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Kimball
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Kimball is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball
    • Rileyville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Rappahannock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
    • Slate Mills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Slate Mills is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Mills
    • Sperryville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Woodville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Woodville is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
    • Scrabble
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Scrabble is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scrabble
    • Rediviva
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Rediviva is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rediviva
  • Shenandoah County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
    • New Market
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Mount Clifton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Mount Clifton is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Clifton
    • Mount Jackson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Rinkerton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Rinkerton is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rinkerton
    • Orkney Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Basye - Bryce Mountain
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Edinburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Jerome
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jerome is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
    • Willow Grove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Willow Grove is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Grove
    • Columbia Furnace
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Columbia Furnace is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia Furnace
    • Calvary
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Calvary is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary
    • Woodstock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Seven Fountains
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Seven Fountains is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Fountains
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
    • Overall
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Overall is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overall
    • Bentonville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Hardy County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
    • Mathias
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Lost City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Peru
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Peru is located in Hardy County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
  • Pendleton County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
    • Fort Seybert
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Fort Seybert is located in Pendleton County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Seybert
    • Brandywine
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Propstburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Propstburg is located in Pendleton County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Propstburg

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

Cemeteries Near Oakwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oakwood.

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 Oakwood - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Baker / Smith / Thompson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Mountain Valley Methodist Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Cyrus Rhodes Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Arrey / Fridley Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Barley Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Athens Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Old Athens Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Athens Church Cemetery
    • The Old Athens Church Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Longs Chapel Cemetery
  • Brock Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Jacob Sellers Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Flook Armentrout Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Fellowship UMC Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellowship UMC Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Fellowship UMC Cemetery is located 6 miles [9.7 km]<2> to the northeast of Harrisonburg.
    • The Fellowship UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Fellowship Community Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2340230 <3>
  • Adam M. Long Family Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (375 more) ...
    • Arkton Tunker Church Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Bethel Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lacey Spring Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Oakwood 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 Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.

  • Paulington ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Paulington is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paulington
  • Mauzy
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mauzy is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mauzy
  • Lacey Spring
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lacey Spring is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey Spring
  • Melrose
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Melrose is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
  • Tenth Legion
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Tenth Legion is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenth Legion
  • Shenandoah
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Grove Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Grove Hill is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Hill
  • Mayland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mayland is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayland
  • Verbena
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Verbena is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbena
  • Linville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Linville is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linville
  • Ingham
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Ingham is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingham
  • Broadway
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Edom
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Edom is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edom
    • Keezletown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Timberville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Oakwood ...

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 77 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oakwood.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oakwood, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oakwood.

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 Oakwood:

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Oakwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Oakwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.