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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 Owens (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 Owens. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Owens is located in Botetourt 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 Botetourt County: Alleghany, Bedford, Craig, Roanoke & Rockbridge.

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

  • Botetourt County     (The home county of Owens)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
    • Salisbury
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
    • Salt Petre Cave
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Gala
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Gala is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gala
    • Strom
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Strom is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strom
    • Springwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Springwood is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
    • Haden
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Haden is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
    • Botetourt ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
    • Fincastle
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Oriskany
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Glen Wilton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Glen Wilton is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Wilton
    • Buchanan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lithia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Lithia is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
    • Rocky Point
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
  • Alleghany County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
    • Rich Patch
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Rich Patch is located in Alleghany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Patch
    • Iron Gate
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Iron Gate is located in Alleghany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Low Moor
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Clifton Forge
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Selma
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Selma is located in Alleghany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
    • Griffith
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Griffith is located in Alleghany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffith
    • Moss Run
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Moss Run is located in Alleghany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Run
  • Bath County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
    • Carloover
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Carloover is located in Bath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carloover
    • Healing Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Healing Springs is located in Bath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Healing Springs
    • Greenwood ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Greenwood is located in Bath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
    • Mitchelltown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Mitchelltown is located in Bath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchelltown
    • Millboro
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Cowardin ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Cowardin is located in Bath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowardin
    • Warm Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Bath Alum
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Bath Alum is located in Bath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath Alum
  • Bedford City
    • Bedford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
    • Villamont
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Villamont is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villamont
    • Montvale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Peaksville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Peaksville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
    • Coonsville ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Coonsville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
    • Chamblissburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Chamblissburg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamblissburg
    • Waugh
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Waugh is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
    • Cifax
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Cifax is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
    • Joppa Mill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
    • Goodview
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Lowry
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Lowry is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
    • Coleman Falls
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
    • Clevilas ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Clevilas is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clevilas
    • Goode
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Buena Vista City
    • Buena Vista
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Covington City
    • Covington
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Craig County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
    • New Castle
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Abbott
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Abbott is located in Craig County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
  • Lexington City
    • Lexington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Roanoke City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
    • Buena Vista
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Buena Vista is located in Roanoke City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Roanoke
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Garden City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Garden City is located in Roanoke City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
  • Roanoke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
    • Hollins
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Mason Cove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Mason Cove is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Cove
    • Catawba
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Vinton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Hanging Rock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Hanging Rock is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanging Rock
    • Montgomery Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Montgomery Village is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
    • Moomaw ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Moomaw is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moomaw
    • Cave Spring
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Cave Spring is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
    • Wabun
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Wabun is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabun
  • Rockbridge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
    • Springfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Springfield is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
    • Red Mills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
    • Longwood ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
    • Natural Bridge
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Greenlee
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
    • Fancy Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
    • Glasgow
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Zollman ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
    • Buffalo Forge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
    • East Lexington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
    • Kerrs Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Kerrs Creek is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerrs Creek
    • Riverside
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
    • Goshen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Salem City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
    • Sunset Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Sunset Village is located in Salem City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
    • Salem
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Greenbrier County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
    • Tuckahoe
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Tuckahoe is located in Greenbrier County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckahoe
    • White Sulphur Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Wild Meadow
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Wild Meadow is located in Greenbrier County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wild Meadow
    • Neola
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Neola is located in Greenbrier County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neola

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

Cemeteries Near Owens ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Owens.

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

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

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

  • Piney Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Wesley Chapel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Rudisill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Galatia Presbyterian Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Houseman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mays Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Linkenhoker Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Copps Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Deisher Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Peck Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Shafer Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • King Memorial Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King Memorial Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the King Memorial Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the northeast of Oriskany.
    • The King Memorial Cemetery has also been known as:
    • King Family Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #50886 <2>
  • Continue List   (235 more) ...
    • McKalester Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Haden Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Godwin Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Godwin Cemetery
      • The Godwin Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Slicer 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.<4>

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

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

  • Eagle Rock
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Salisbury
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
  • Bessemer
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Bessemer is located in Botetourt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bessemer
  • Salt Petre Cave
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • 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
  • Gala
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Gala is located in Botetourt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gala
  • Springwood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Springwood is located in Botetourt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
  • Strom
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Strom is located in Botetourt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strom
  • Botetourt ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
  • Haden
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Haden is located in Botetourt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
  • Fincastle
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Buchanan
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Glen Wilton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Glen Wilton is located in Botetourt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Wilton
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Rich Patch
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Rich Patch is located in Alleghany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Patch
    • Lithia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Lithia is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
    • Rapps Mill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Rapps Mill is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapps Mill

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

Newspapers Published in Owens ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Owens.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Owens, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Owens.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Owens:

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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Owens) 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 Owens, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.