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 Otterville (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 Otterville. 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 doctors and 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.
Otterville 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 Otterville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Otterville:
- Bedford County (The home county of Otterville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Peaksville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Cifax
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Lowry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Bellevue
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bellevue is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Goode
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Waugh
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Waugh is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Coleman Falls
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
- Forest
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Boonsboro
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
- Joppa Mill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
- Montvale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Abert
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Abert is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
- Coonsville ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Coonsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
- Alleghany County
- Iron Gate
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Iron Gate is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
- Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
- Amherst County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Pedlar Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Pleasant View
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Winesap
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Winesap is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Madison Heights
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Allwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Allwood is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
- Coolwell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Coolwell is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
- Forks of Buffalo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
- Joshua Falls
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Joshua Falls is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joshua Falls
- Sweet Briar Station
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
- Sandidges
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Sandidges is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
- Monitor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Monitor is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- Amherst
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Alto
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Alto is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Botetourt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Buchanan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rocky Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
- Lithia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Springwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Blue Ridge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Salt Petre Cave
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Botetourt ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Salisbury
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Laymantown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Laymantown is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laymantown
- Fincastle
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Troutville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Amsterdam
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Amsterdam is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsterdam
- Apple Tree Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Apple Tree Village is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Tree Village
- Buena Vista City
- Buena Vista
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Bedford Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Powhatan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Powhatan is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
- Timberlake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Lawyers
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lawyers is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
- Yellow Branch
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
- Leesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Leesville is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Lynch Station
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lynch Station is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Station
- Altavista
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Rustburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Athos ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Mount Athos is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Athos
- Concord
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Mount Zion
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Zion is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Gladys
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Hales Ford ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hales Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Ford
- Westlake Corner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Westlake Corner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake Corner
- North Shore
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- North Shore is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shore
- Burnt Chimney
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Burnt Chimney is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Chimney
- Felicia ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Felicia is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felicia
- Union Hall
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lexington City
- Lexington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Lynchburg City
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Woodbine Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Lavino Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Lynchburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Pittsylvania County
- Hurt
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- Roanoke City
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Buena Vista
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Buena Vista is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Garden City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Roanoke
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Roanoke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Montgomery Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Montgomery Village is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
- Vinton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hollins
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Rockbridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Greenlee
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Glasgow
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Natural Bridge
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Springfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Springfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Red Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
- Buffalo Forge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Fancy Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Zollman ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
- East Lexington
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
- Riverside
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Kerrs Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Kerrs Creek is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerrs Creek
- Salem City
- Sunset Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Sunset Village is located in Salem City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Otterville, see our County-by-County Page for Otterville.
Cemeteries Near Otterville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Otterville.
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 Otterville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Otterville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- St. Thomas Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Turpin Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ebenezer UMC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebenezer UMC Cemetery
- The Ebenezer UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Ebenezer Church Cemetery
- Ebenezer Methodist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #51521 <2>
- Old Ebenezer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Mountain Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Coffee Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Longwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Massie Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Norwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Otey Street Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Fairmount Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- North Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Continue List (378 more) ...
- Rose Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Virginia Memorial Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Grange Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
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 Otterville had a population of 52 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Otterville, with the one closest to Otterville listed first.
- Peaksville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Curtis
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Curtis is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis
- Cifax
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Sedalia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sedalia is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
- Charlemont
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Charlemont is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlemont
- Bedford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Lowry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Goode
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bellevue
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bellevue is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Perrowville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Perrowville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrowville
- Thaxton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Thaxton is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thaxton
- Munford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Munford is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munford
- Continue List (20 more) ...
- Reba
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Reba is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reba
- Coffee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Coffee is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee
- Waugh
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Waugh is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Otterville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Otterville.
Newspapers Published in Otterville ...
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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Otterville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Otterville, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Otterville.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Otterville:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Bedford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alleghany County
- Amherst County
- Bedford City
- Botetourt County
- Buena Vista City
- Campbell County
- Franklin County
- Lexington City
- Lynchburg City
- Pittsylvania County
- Roanoke City
- Roanoke County
- Rockbridge County
- Salem City
- 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Otterville) 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 Otterville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |