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 Petersburg (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 Petersburg. 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.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Petersburg ...
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 129 newspapers that have been published in the area around Petersburg.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Petersburg. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Petersburg and those printed in the larger area surrounding Petersburg.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> of Petersburg.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Petersburg:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Website for the Library of Virginia
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Virginia
- Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Virginia
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Virginia
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Virginia
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Virginia
Cemeteries Near Petersburg ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Petersburg.
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.
If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Petersburg covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Peoples Memorial Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- To give a relative sense of its location, the Peoples Memorial Cemetery is located in Petersburg.
- The Peoples Memorial Cemetery has also been known as:
- Providence Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Peoples Memorial Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2192025 <2>
- Little Church Street Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Little Church Street Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1889373 <2>
- Brith Achim Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- To give a relative sense of its location, the Brith Achim Cemetery is located in Petersburg.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brith Achim Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2222405 <2>
- Eastview Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- To give a relative sense of its location, the Eastview Cemetery is located in Petersburg.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eastview Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1933708 <2>
- Rod-of Sholom Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- To give a relative sense of its location, the Rod-of Sholom Cemetery is located in Petersburg.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rod-of Sholom Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2192213 <2>
- St. Joseph's RC Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Joseph's RC Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Petersburg.
- The St. Joseph's RC Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Josephs Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph's RC Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1968061 <2>
- Wilkerson Memorial Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- To give a relative sense of its location, the Wilkerson Memorial Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Petersburg.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilkerson Memorial Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1992690 <2>
- Blandford Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- To give a relative sense of its location, the Blandford Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Petersburg.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blandford Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #49478 <2>
- Ettrick Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ettrick Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ettrick Cemetery
- St. Anns Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Anns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Anns Cemetery
- Dinwiddie Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dinwiddie Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dinwiddie Memorial Park
- St. Johns Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
- Continue List (276 more) ...
- Poplar Grove National Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Poplar Grove National Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Poplar Grove National Cemetery
- Southlawn Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Southlawn Memorial Park
- Hollywood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hollywood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hollywood Cemetery
- Poplar Grove National 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 Petersburg in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Petersburg.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Pembroke
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest) - Ettrick
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ettrick
- Ettrick is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ettrick <5>
- Matoaca
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaca
- Matoaca is located in Chesterfield County
- Walthall
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Sutherland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sutherland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherland
- Sutherland is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sutherland <5>
- Burgess
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Derby ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Chester
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
- Chester is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chester <5>
- Templeton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south) - Bermuda Hundred ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bermuda Hundred. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<6>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bermuda Hundred
- Bermuda Hundred is located in Chesterfield County
- Meadowville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowville
- Meadowville is located in Chesterfield County
- Centralia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Continue List (15 more) ...
- Chesterfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chesterfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield
- Chesterfield is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chesterfield <5>
- Shirley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast) - Disputanta
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Disputanta have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Disputanta
- Disputanta is located in Prince George County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Disputanta <5>
- Chesterfield
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Petersburg. See our List of 1890's Communities around Petersburg.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Petersburg. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Petersburg) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Petersburg. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2281, Longitude: -77.4017 |
| <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> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <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 Petersburg, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |