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 Ocala (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 Ocala. 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 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.
Ocala is located in Carroll 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 Carroll County: Floyd, Grayson, Patrick, Pulaski, Surry & Wythe.
Below are the counties that are near Ocala. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ocala:
- Carroll County (The home county of Ocala)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ocala, with the one closest to Ocala listed first.
- Dugspur
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Star
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Star is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Sylvatus
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
- Hillsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Nester
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Nester is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nester
- Shorts Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
- Gladesboro
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Gladesboro is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesboro
- Pike City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pike City is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike City
- Fancy Gap
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Woodlawn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Sheep Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
- Bland County
- Mechanicsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
- Floyd County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ocala, with the one closest to Ocala listed first.
- Indian Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Duncan
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Duncan is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Floyd
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Sowers
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sowers is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sowers
- Poff
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Poff is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poff
- Haycock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Haycock is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haycock
- Pizarro
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Pizarro is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pizarro
- Terrys Fork
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Terrys Fork is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrys Fork
- Simpsons
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Simpsons is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpsons
- Galax City
- Galax
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Giles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ocala, with the one closest to Ocala listed first.
- Poplar Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Poplar Hill is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hill
- Goodwins Ferry
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Goodwins Ferry is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwins Ferry
- Thessalia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Thessalia is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
- Eggleston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Newport
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Newport is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Grayson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ocala, with the one closest to Ocala listed first.
- Fries
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Low Gap
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Low Gap is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Baywood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Baywood is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ocala, with the one closest to Ocala listed first.
- Childress
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Childress is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childress
- Riner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pilot
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Rogers
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rogers is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Christiansburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Old Farm Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Old Farm Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Farm Village
- Raintree Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Raintree Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raintree Village
- Prices Fork
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Prices Fork is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prices Fork
- Houchins
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Houchins is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houchins
- Merrimac
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Merrimac is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
- Montgomery
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Montgomery is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Patrick County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ocala, with the one closest to Ocala listed first.
- Meadows of Dan
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ararat
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Carters Mill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Carters Mill is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Mill
- Woolwine
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Charity
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Charity is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charity
- Elamsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Elamsville is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elamsville
- Peters Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Peters Creek is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters Creek
- Stuart
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Patrick Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dodson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Dodson is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodson
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ocala, with the one closest to Ocala listed first.
- Mack Creek Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Mack Creek Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack Creek Village
- Draper
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Snowville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Snowville is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowville
- Newbern
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Wurno
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Wurno is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurno
- Pulaski
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dublin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Hilton Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hilton Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
- Fairlawn
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Fairlawn is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn
- Cowan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Cowan is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
- Sassin ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sassin is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
- Parrott
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Parrott is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrott
- Radford City
- The following are listed by their distance from Ocala, with the one closest to Ocala listed first.
- New Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- New Town is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Radford Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Radford Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford Village
- Simpkins Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Simpkins Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpkins Village
- Sunset Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Sunset Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Mill Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Mill Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
- Radford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ocala, with the one closest to Ocala listed first.
- Austinville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Locust Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Fort Chiswell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
- Max Meadows
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Ivanhoe
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Siloam
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Siloam is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Kent
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Wytheville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Rowe Crossroads
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
- Speedwell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Crockett
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Alleghany County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ocala, with the one closest to Ocala listed first.
- Edmonds
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Edmonds is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
- Ennice
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Stokes County (NC)
- Aarons Corner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Aarons Corner is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aarons Corner
- Surry County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ocala, with the one closest to Ocala listed first.
- Flat Rock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Flat Rock is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
- Mount Airy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Toast
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Toast is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toast
- Mount Herman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Herman is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Herman
- Round Peak
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Round Peak is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Peak
- Sheltontown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Sheltontown is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheltontown
- Albion
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Albion is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Red Brush
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Red Brush is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Brush
- Low Gap
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Holly Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Holly Springs is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Westfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- White Plains
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- White Plains is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ocala, see our County-by-County Page for Ocala.
Cemeteries Near Ocala ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ocala.
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 Ocala - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ocala covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ocala, with the one closest to Ocala listed first.
- Easrly Marshall Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Newman Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Polly Ann Marshall Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Ezra Marshall Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Panther Creek Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Thompson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Alfred Marshall Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Davis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Lindsey - Old Bethesda Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Smith Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Green Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Taylor Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Continue List (577 more) ...
- Stephen Bond Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Hattie Marshall Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Lost Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
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>
While we didn't find Ocala in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ocala.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ocala, with the one closest to Ocala listed first.
- Dugspur
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Star
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Star is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Indian Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Sylvatus
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
- Allisonia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Allisonia is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allisonia
- Hillsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Duncan
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Duncan is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Kayoulah
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Kayoulah is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kayoulah
- Barren Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bertha
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bertha is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertha
- Nester
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Nester is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nester
- Laurel Fork
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Draper
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fosters Falls
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Fosters Falls is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosters Falls
- Shorts Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ocala. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ocala.
Newspapers Published in Ocala ...
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 23 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ocala.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ocala, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ocala.
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 Ocala:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Carroll County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bland County
- Floyd County
- Galax City
- Giles County
- Grayson County
- Montgomery County
- Patrick County
- Pulaski County
- Radford City
- Wythe County
- Alleghany County
- Stokes County
- Surry 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 Ocala, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ocala) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |