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 Pearch (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 Pearch. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Pearch 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 Pearch. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pearch:
- Bedford County (The home county of Pearch)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pearch, with the one closest to Pearch listed first.
- Coleman Falls
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
- Abert
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Abert is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
- Boonsboro
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
- Waugh
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Waugh is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Forest
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Cifax
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Bellevue
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bellevue is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Goode
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lowry
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Peaksville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Joppa Mill
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
- Coonsville ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Coonsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
- Davis Mill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Davis Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Mill
- Amherst County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pearch, with the one closest to Pearch listed first.
- Pedlar Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Winesap
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Winesap is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Pleasant View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Madison Heights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Coolwell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Coolwell is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
- Allwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Allwood is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
- Sweet Briar Station
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
- Forks of Buffalo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
- Amherst
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Monitor
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Monitor is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- Sandidges
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sandidges is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
- Joshua Falls
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Joshua Falls is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joshua Falls
- Alto
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Alto is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Appomattox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pearch, with the one closest to Pearch listed first.
- Beckham
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Beckham is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckham
- Mineral ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Mineral is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
- Spout Spring
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Spout Spring is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spout Spring
- Bent Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Bent Creek is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
- Appomattox
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Spring Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Mills is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Mills
- Chap
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chap is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chap
- Evergreen
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Evergreen is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Augusta County
- Steeles Tavern
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Botetourt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pearch, with the one closest to Pearch listed first.
- Rocky Point
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
- Buchanan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Lithia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Springwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Salt Petre Cave
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- 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
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Salisbury
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Blue Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Buena Vista City
- Buena Vista
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pearch, with the one closest to Pearch listed first.
- Powhatan
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Powhatan is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
- Timberlake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Bedford Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Lawyers
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Lawyers is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
- Mount Athos ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Athos is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Athos
- Yellow Branch
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
- Rustburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Concord
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Zion
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Zion is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Lynch Station
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lynch Station is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Station
- Altavista
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Gladys
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Leesville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Leesville is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Lexington City
- Lexington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lynchburg City
- The following are listed by their distance from Pearch, with the one closest to Pearch listed first.
- Lavino Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Woodbine Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Lynchburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Nelson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pearch, with the one closest to Pearch listed first.
- Buffalo Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Buffalo Springs is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Springs
- Gladstone
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Colleen
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Colleen is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colleen
- Arrington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Massies Mill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Massies Mill is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massies Mill
- Jonesboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jonesboro is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
- Tyro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Norwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Norwood is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Bryant
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bryant is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Shipman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Shipman is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipman
- Pittsylvania County
- Hurt
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- 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>
- Rockbridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pearch, with the one closest to Pearch listed first.
- Glasgow
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Greenlee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Buffalo Forge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Natural Bridge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fancy Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Red Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
- Springfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Springfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Riverside
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Zollman ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
- East Lexington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
- Marlbrook
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Marlbrook is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlbrook
- Fairfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Fairfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pearch, see our County-by-County Page for Pearch.
Cemeteries Near Pearch ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pearch.
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 Pearch - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pearch covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pearch, with the one closest to Pearch listed first.
- Harris Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Ivy Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fletcher Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hudson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Scott Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Watts Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hudson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Sharon Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lynchburg Baptist Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gatewood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- North Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Forest Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (196 more) ...
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- New Hope Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- McIvor Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Pearch had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pearch, with the one closest to Pearch listed first.
- Coleman Falls
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
- Abert
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Abert is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
- Boonsboro
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
- Salt Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Salt Creek is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Creek
- Waugh
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Waugh is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Elon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Elon is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
- Pedlar Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Big Island
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Coffee
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Coffee is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee
- Major
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Major is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Major
- Charlemont
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Charlemont is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlemont
- Perrowville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Perrowville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrowville
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Pleasant View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Sedalia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Sedalia is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
- Cifax
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pearch. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pearch.
Newspapers Published in Pearch ...
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 101 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pearch.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pearch, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pearch.
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 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 Pearch:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Bedford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Amherst County
- Appomattox County
- Augusta County
- Bedford City
- Botetourt County
- Buena Vista City
- Campbell County
- Lexington City
- Lynchburg City
- Nelson County
- Pittsylvania County
- Rockbridge 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> | 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 Pearch, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Pearch) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |