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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 Ottoway (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 Ottoway. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Ottoway is located in Nelson 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 Nelson County: Albemarle, Appomattox, Augusta & Buckingham.

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

  • Nelson County     (The home county of Ottoway)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottoway, with the one closest to Ottoway listed first.
    • Greenfield
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Greenfield is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
    • Adial
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Adial is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adial
    • Lodebar
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Lodebar is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodebar
    • Durrett Town
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Durrett Town is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durrett Town
    • Nellysford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Onan
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Onan is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onan
    • Faber
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Old Myndus
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Old Myndus is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Myndus
    • Afton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Rockfish
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Rockfish is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockfish
    • Schuyler
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Bryant
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bryant is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
    • Jonesboro
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jonesboro is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
  • Albemarle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottoway, with the one closest to Ottoway listed first.
    • Covesville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Covesville is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covesville
    • Batesville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • North Garden
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Alberene
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Alberene is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberene
    • Yancey Mills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Yancey Mills is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancey Mills
    • Foothill Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Foothill Village is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foothill Village
    • Crozet
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Esmont
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Esmont is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esmont
    • Porters
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Porters is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porters
    • Keene
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Ivy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • White Hall
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • White Hall is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
    • Decca ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Decca is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decca
  • Amherst County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottoway, with the one closest to Ottoway listed first.
    • Lowesville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • New Glasgow
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • New Glasgow is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Glasgow
    • Monitor
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Monitor is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
    • Sandidges
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Sandidges is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
    • Alto
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Alto is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
    • Amherst
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Walkers Ford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Walkers Ford is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkers Ford
    • Forks of Buffalo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
    • Allwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Allwood is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
    • Sweet Briar Station
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
  • Appomattox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottoway, with the one closest to Ottoway listed first.
    • Bent Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Bent Creek is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
    • Beckham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Beckham is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckham
    • Mineral ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Mineral is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
  • Augusta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottoway, with the one closest to Ottoway listed first.
    • Sherando
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Sherando is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherando
    • Lyndhurst
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lipscomb
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Lipscomb is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lipscomb
    • Dooms
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Dooms is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooms
    • Stuarts Draft
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Crimora
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Fishersville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Sampson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Sampson is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampson
    • Brand
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Brand is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brand
    • Jolivue
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jolivue is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jolivue
    • Greenville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Steeles Tavern
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Arbor Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Arbor Hill is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbor Hill
  • Buckingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottoway, with the one closest to Ottoway listed first.
    • Axtell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Axtell is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axtell
    • Manteo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Manteo is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteo
    • Glenmore
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Glenmore is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
    • Centenary
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Centenary is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centenary
    • Mount Vinco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Vinco is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vinco
    • Alcoma
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Alcoma is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcoma
    • Bridgeport
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bridgeport is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
    • Buckingham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Arvonia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Toga
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Toga is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toga
    • Gold Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Gold Hill is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Hill
    • New Canton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • New Canton is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Canton
  • Charlottesville City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottoway, with the one closest to Ottoway listed first.
    • Belmont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Belmont is located in Charlottesville City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
    • Charlottesville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Locust Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Locust Grove is located in Charlottesville City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
  • Fluvanna County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottoway, with the one closest to Ottoway listed first.
    • Antioch
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Antioch is located in Fluvanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
    • Nicholas
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Nicholas is located in Fluvanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholas
    • Lake Monticello
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Lake Monticello is located in Fluvanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Monticello
    • Weber City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Fork Union
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottoway, with the one closest to Ottoway listed first.
    • Cedarmere ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Cedarmere is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
    • Amicus
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Amicus is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amicus
  • Rockbridge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottoway, with the one closest to Ottoway listed first.
    • Davis
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Davis is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
    • Marlbrook
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Marlbrook is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlbrook
    • Fairfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Fairfield is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
    • Brownsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Rockingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottoway, with the one closest to Ottoway listed first.
    • Goods Mill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Goods Mill is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goods Mill
    • Cross Keys
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Staunton City
    • Staunton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Waynesboro City
    • Waynesboro
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Ottoway ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ottoway.

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

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

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

  • Adial Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Holy Cross Episcopal Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Cross Episcopal Church Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Holy Cross Episcopal Church Cemetery is located between<2> the communities of Greenfield and Batesville.  The cemetery lies 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the southwest of Batesville.
    • The Holy Cross Episcopal Church Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Holy Cross Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #50674 <4>
  • Cedar Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Gibson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Gibson Cemetery is located outside and to the southwest of Covesville.
  • Hunt Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Cove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Cemetery
    • The Cove Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Cove Presbyterian Church Cemetery
  • Wintergreen Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Ridgecrest Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Rock Spring Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Diamond Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Oak Hill Baptist Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Locust Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (244 more) ...
    • Mt. Shiloh Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Zion Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Wild Rose Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] 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.<5>

While we didn't find Ottoway in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ottoway.

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

  • Greenfield
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenfield is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
  • Lodebar
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Lodebar is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodebar
  • Nellysford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Covesville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Covesville is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covesville
  • Onan
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Onan is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onan
  • Avon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Avon is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
  • Faber
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Batesville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Afton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • North Garden
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Schuyler
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Damon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Damon is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damon
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Alberene
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Alberene is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberene
    • Yancey Mills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Yancey Mills is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancey Mills
    • Greenwood
      (9 miles [14.5 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 Ottoway. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ottoway.

Newspapers Published in Ottoway ...

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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ottoway.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ottoway, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ottoway.

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 websites either 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 Ottoway:

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>To help visualize the location of the cemetery, we've drawn a straight line between the communities of Greenfield and Batesville. The cemetery can be found near that line and roughly halfway between the two communities. Remember that this is just an approximate location.
<3>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- Ottoway) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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.
<5>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 Ottoway, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.