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 Penicks Mill (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 Penicks Mill. 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.
Name Variations for Penicks Mill ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Penicks Mill: Penicks Ml. (or less commonly used: Penicks Mll.)
- While the name of this community is Penicks Mill, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Penicks Mill may originally have been Penick's Mill.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Penicks Mill might be written as Penick Mill.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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.
Penicks Mill 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 Penicks Mill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Penicks Mill:
- Bedford County (The home county of Penicks Mill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Penicks Mill, with the one closest to Penicks Mill listed first.
- Peaksville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Coonsville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coonsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
- Montvale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Joppa Mill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
- Villamont
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Villamont is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villamont
- Lowry
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Chamblissburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Chamblissburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamblissburg
- Cifax
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Goode
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Clevilas ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Clevilas is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clevilas
- Davis Mill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Davis Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Mill
- Bellevue
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Bellevue is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Goodview
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penicks Mill, with the one closest to Penicks Mill listed first.
- Rich Patch
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rich Patch is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Patch
- Iron Gate
(29 miles [46.7 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
- Amherst County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penicks Mill, with the one closest to Penicks Mill listed first.
- Pedlar Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Pleasant View
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Winesap
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Winesap is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Madison Heights
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Allwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Allwood is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
- Forks of Buffalo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
- Coolwell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Coolwell is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
- Joshua Falls
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Joshua Falls is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joshua Falls
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Botetourt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penicks Mill, with the one closest to Penicks Mill listed first.
- Lithia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Buchanan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Blue Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Rocky Point
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
- Botetourt ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Springwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Laymantown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Laymantown is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laymantown
- Troutville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Apple Tree Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Apple Tree Village is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Tree Village
- Fincastle
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Amsterdam
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Amsterdam is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsterdam
- Cloverdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Daleville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Buena Vista City
- Buena Vista
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penicks Mill, with the one closest to Penicks Mill listed first.
- Bedford Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Powhatan
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Powhatan is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
- Timberlake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Leesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Leesville is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Lawyers
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Lawyers is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
- Lynch Station
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Lynch Station is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Station
- Yellow Branch
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
- Altavista
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rustburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Craig County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penicks Mill, with the one closest to Penicks Mill listed first.
- Abbott
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Abbott is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- New Castle
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penicks Mill, with the one closest to Penicks Mill listed first.
- Hales Ford ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Hales Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Ford
- Westlake Corner
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Westlake Corner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake Corner
- North Shore
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- North Shore is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shore
- Burnt Chimney
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Burnt Chimney is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Chimney
- Felicia ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Felicia is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felicia
- Union Hall
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Villa ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Villa is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa
- Boones Mill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Redwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Redwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Penhook
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Gogginsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gogginsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gogginsville
- Rocky Mount
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lexington City
- Lexington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Lynchburg City
- The following are listed by their distance from Penicks Mill, with the one closest to Penicks Mill listed first.
- Woodbine Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Lavino Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Lynchburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Pittsylvania County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penicks Mill, with the one closest to Penicks Mill listed first.
- Hurt
(26 miles [41.8 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 <2>
- Pittsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Pittsville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsville
- Roanoke City
- The following are listed by their distance from Penicks Mill, with the one closest to Penicks Mill listed first.
- Buena Vista
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Buena Vista is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Roanoke
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- 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 Penicks Mill, with the one closest to Penicks Mill listed first.
- Montgomery Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Montgomery Village is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
- Vinton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hollins
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Hanging Rock
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hanging Rock is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanging Rock
- Cave Spring
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cave Spring is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
- Mason Cove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Mason Cove is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Cove
- Catawba
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Moomaw ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Moomaw is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moomaw
- Wabun
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Wabun is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabun
- Rockbridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penicks Mill, with the one closest to Penicks Mill listed first.
- Greenlee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Springfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Springfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Natural Bridge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Red Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
- Glasgow
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Fancy Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Buffalo Forge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Zollman ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
- East Lexington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
- Salem City
- The following are listed by their distance from Penicks Mill, with the one closest to Penicks Mill listed first.
- Sunset Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Sunset Village is located in Salem City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Salem
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Penicks Mill, see our County-by-County Page for Penicks Mill.
Cemeteries Near Penicks Mill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Penicks Mill.
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 Penicks Mill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Penicks Mill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Penicks Mill, with the one closest to Penicks Mill listed first.
- Rose Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Tate Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mountain Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Otey Street Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Longwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Shady Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fairmount Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Giles Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lawhorn Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Watson Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Gray Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wheeler Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (503 more) ...
- Bond Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Ebenezer UMC Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- 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 <4>
- Old Ebenezer Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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 Penicks Mill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Penicks Mill.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Penicks Mill, with the one closest to Penicks Mill listed first.
- Thaxton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Thaxton is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thaxton
- Reba
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Reba is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reba
- Peaksville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Coonsville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coonsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
- Robertsons ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Robertsons is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robertsons
- Bedford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Montvale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Otterville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Otterville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otterville
- Bunker Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bunker Hill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
- Munford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Munford is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munford
- Curtis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Curtis is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis
- Lithia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Chamblissburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Chamblissburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamblissburg
- Buchanan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Lowry
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Penicks Mill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Penicks Mill.
Newspapers Published in Penicks Mill ...
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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Penicks Mill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Penicks Mill, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Penicks Mill.
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 Penicks Mill:
- 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
- Craig 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> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 from Point A (ie- Penicks Mill) 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 Penicks Mill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |