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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 Raynor (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 Raynor. 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 and hospitals 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.

Raynor is located in Isle of Wight County.

To see how the shape of Virginia's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Isle of Wight County: Franklin, Southampton, Suffolk City & Surry.

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

  • Isle of Wight County     (The home county of Raynor)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Raynor, with the one closest to Raynor listed first.
    • Magnet
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Magnet. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnet
      • Magnet is located in Isle of Wight County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Magnet
      • From Raynor to Magnet
    • Zuni
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Smithfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smithfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithfield
      • Smithfield is located in Isle of Wight County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,615 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Smithfield <3>
    • Windsor
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Rushmere
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rushmere have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushmere
      • Rushmere is located in Isle of Wight County
    • Rescue
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Walters
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Carrsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Chesapeake City
    • Charlton Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Charlton Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlton Village
      • Charlton Village is located in Chesapeake City
  • Franklin City
  • Gloucester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Raynor, with the one closest to Raynor listed first.
    • Gloucester Point
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gloucester Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gloucester Point
      • Gloucester Point is located in Gloucester County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gloucester Point <3>
    • Crab
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Crab. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab
      • Crab is located in Gloucester County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Crab
      • From Raynor to Crab
    • Country Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Country Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
      • Country Village is located in Gloucester County
    • Clay Bank
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clay Bank. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Bank
      • Clay Bank is located in Gloucester County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clay Bank
      • From Raynor to Clay Bank
    • York View
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Achilles
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Ordinary
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • White Marsh
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Hampton City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Raynor, with the one closest to Raynor listed first.
    • Aberdeen Gardens
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Greenwood Farms
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Newgate Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newgate Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newgate Village
      • Newgate Village is located in Hampton City
    • Chapel Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chapel Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Village
      • Chapel Village is located in Hampton City
    • Pine Chapel Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Chapel Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Chapel Village
      • Pine Chapel Village is located in Hampton City
    • Hampton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Phoebus
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Buckroe Beach
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • James City County
  • Newport News City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Raynor, with the one closest to Raynor listed first.
    • Hilton Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hilton Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
      • Hilton Village is located in Newport News City
    • Bernard Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bernard Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernard Village
      • Bernard Village is located in Newport News City
    • Newport News
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Red Hill Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Hill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill Village
      • Red Hill Village is located in Newport News City
    • Lee Hall
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Norfolk City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Raynor, with the one closest to Raynor listed first.
    • Glenwood Park
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Alantic City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alantic City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alantic City
      • Alantic City is located in Norfolk City
    • Sussex
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Monticello Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monticello Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello Village
      • Monticello Village is located in Norfolk City
    • Norfolk
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Poquoson City
    • Poquoson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poquoson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poquoson
      • Poquoson is located in Poquoson City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,257 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Poquoson <3>
  • Portsmouth City
  • Prince George County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Raynor, with the one closest to Raynor listed first.
    • Burrowsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Newville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Newville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
      • Newville is located in Prince George County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Newville
      • From Raynor to Newville
    • Garysville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Southampton County
  • Suffolk City
  • Surry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Raynor, with the one closest to Raynor listed first.
    • Itata
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Itata. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Itata
      • Itata is located in Surry County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Itata
      • From Raynor to Itata
    • Beachland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Dendron
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Surry
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Surry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surry
      • Surry is located in Surry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Surry <3>
    • Carsley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Scotland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Scotland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
      • Scotland is located in Surry County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Scotland
      • From Raynor to Scotland
    • Homewood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Homewood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homewood
      • Homewood is located in Surry County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Homewood
      • From Raynor to Homewood
    • Spring Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Claremont
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Claremont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
      • Claremont is located in Surry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
  • Sussex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Raynor, with the one closest to Raynor listed first.
    • Wakefield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wakefield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakefield
      • Wakefield is located in Sussex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 805 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wakefield <3>
    • Waverly
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waverly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
      • Waverly is located in Sussex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,905 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waverly <3>
    • Sussex
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Yale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Williamsburg City
  • York County
  • Gates County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Raynor, with the one closest to Raynor listed first.
    • Reynoldson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Reynoldson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldson
      • Reynoldson is located in Gates County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Reynoldson
      • From Raynor to Reynoldson
    • Corapeake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corapeake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corapeake
      • Corapeake is located in Gates County (NC)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corapeake <3>
    • Gates
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Willeyton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Willeyton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willeyton
      • Willeyton is located in Gates County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Willeyton
      • From Raynor to Willeyton

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

Cemeteries Near Raynor ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Raynor.

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 Raynor covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Raynor had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Comet
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Comet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comet
    • Comet is located in Isle of Wight County
  • Magnet
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Magnet. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnet
    • Magnet is located in Isle of Wight County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Magnet
    • From Raynor to Magnet
  • Zuni
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Septa
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Septa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Septa
    • Septa is located in Isle of Wight County
  • Ivor
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Itata
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Itata. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Itata
    • Itata is located in Surry County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Itata
    • From Raynor to Itata
  • Windsor
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Smithfield
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smithfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithfield
    • Smithfield is located in Isle of Wight County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,615 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Smithfield <3>
  • Longview
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview
    • Longview is located in Isle of Wight County
  • Dendron
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Everets
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Everets have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everets
    • Everets is located in Suffolk City
  • Moorings
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moorings have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorings
    • Moorings is located in Surry County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Berlin
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Chuckatuck
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Carrollton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carrollton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrollton
      • Carrollton is located in Isle of Wight County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carrollton <3>

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

Newspapers Published in Raynor ...

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 5 newspapers that have been published in the area around Raynor.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Raynor, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Raynor.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Raynor:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Raynor. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Isle of Wight County: www.co.isle-of-wight.va.us/

The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Raynor, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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 from Point A (ie- Raynor) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Raynor. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.9479, Longitude: -76.7827       In this case, the coordinates for Raynor have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025