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 Pera (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 Pera. 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 and doctors 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.
Pera is located in Amherst 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 Amherst County: Appomattox, Bedford, Campbell, Lynchburg City, Nelson & Rockbridge.
Below are the counties that are near Pera. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pera:
- Amherst County (The home county of Pera)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pera, with the one closest to Pera listed first.
- Pleasant View
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Allwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Allwood is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
- Pedlar Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Forks of Buffalo
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
- Sandidges
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Sandidges is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
- Monitor
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Monitor is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- Alto
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Alto is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Sweet Briar Station
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
- Coolwell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Coolwell is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
- Winesap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Winesap is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Amherst
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Lowesville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pera, with the one closest to Pera listed first.
- Griffith
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Griffith is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffith
- Iron Gate
(29 miles [46.7 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
- Appomattox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pera, with the one closest to Pera listed first.
- Beckham
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Beckham is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckham
- Mineral ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Mineral is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
- Bent Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Bent Creek is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
- Spout Spring
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Spout Spring is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spout Spring
- Augusta County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pera, with the one closest to Pera listed first.
- Steeles Tavern
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Spottswood
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Spottswood is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spottswood
- Newport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Newport is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Greenville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Middlebrook
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Bath County
- Millboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pera, with the one closest to Pera listed first.
- Waugh
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Waugh is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Coleman Falls
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
- Abert
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Abert is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
- Boonsboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
- Cifax
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Forest
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Bellevue
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bellevue is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Goode
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Lowry
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Peaksville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Montvale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Joppa Mill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
- Botetourt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pera, with the one closest to Pera listed first.
- Rocky Point
(17 miles [27.4 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)
- Salt Petre Cave
(24 miles [38.6 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
- Springwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Lithia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Salisbury
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Gala
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Gala is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gala
- Botetourt ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Glen Wilton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Glen Wilton is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Wilton
- Haden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Haden is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
- Buena Vista City
- Buena Vista
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pera, with the one closest to Pera listed first.
- Powhatan
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Powhatan is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
- Timberlake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Mount Athos ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Athos is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Athos
- Bedford Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Lawyers
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Lawyers is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
- Yellow Branch
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
- Concord
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rustburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Zion
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Zion is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Lexington City
- Lexington
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lynchburg City
- The following are listed by their distance from Pera, with the one closest to Pera listed first.
- Lavino Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Woodbine Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Lynchburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Nelson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pera, with the one closest to Pera listed first.
- Massies Mill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Massies Mill is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massies Mill
- Colleen
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Colleen is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colleen
- Jonesboro
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jonesboro is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
- Arrington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Tyro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bryant
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bryant is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- 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
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Shipman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Shipman is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipman
- Norwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Norwood is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Old Myndus
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Old Myndus is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Myndus
- Nellysford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rockbridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pera, with the one closest to Pera listed first.
- Glasgow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Buffalo Forge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Greenlee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Riverside
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Fancy Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Zollman ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
- Natural Bridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- East Lexington
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
- Red Mills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Springfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Springfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Marlbrook
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Marlbrook is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlbrook
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pera, see our County-by-County Page for Pera.
Cemeteries Near Pera ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pera.
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 Pera - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pera covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pera, with the one closest to Pera listed first.
- Roberts Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Gatewood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Hudson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Grant Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ivy Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Dodd Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Hicks Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Sharon Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Harris Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Watts Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fletcher Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hudson Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (186 more) ...
- Burford Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Salling Family Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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.<3>
While we didn't find Pera in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pera.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pera, with the one closest to Pera listed first.
- Pleasant View
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Pedlar Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Allwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Allwood is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
- Snowden
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Snowden is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowden
- Major
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Major is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Major
- Forks of Buffalo
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
- Willow
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Willow is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow
- Big Island
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Waugh
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Waugh is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Pearch
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Pearch is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearch
- Coleman Falls
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
- Salt Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Salt Creek is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Creek
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Elon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Elon is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
- Sandidges
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Sandidges is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
- Oronoco
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Oronoco is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oronoco
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pera. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pera.
Newspapers Published in Pera ...
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 95 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pera.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pera, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pera.
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 Pera:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Amherst County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alleghany County
- Appomattox County
- Augusta County
- Bath County
- Bedford City
- Bedford County
- Botetourt County
- Buena Vista City
- Campbell County
- Lexington City
- Lynchburg City
- Nelson 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> | 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> | 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 Pera, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Pera) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |