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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 Rockaway (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 Rockaway. 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 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.

Rockaway is located in Fluvanna 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 Fluvanna County: Albemarle, Buckingham, Cumberland, Goochland & Louisa.

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

  • Fluvanna County     (The home county of Rockaway)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
    • Lake Monticello
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Monticello is located in Fluvanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Monticello
    • Fork Union
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Weber City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Kents Store
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Kents Store is located in Fluvanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kents Store
    • Columbia
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Antioch
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Antioch is located in Fluvanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
    • Nicholas
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Nicholas is located in Fluvanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholas
  • Albemarle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
    • Woodridge
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Woodridge is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodridge
    • Keswick
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Rose Hill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Rose Hill is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
    • Scottsville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Stony Point
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Stony Point is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
    • Shadwell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Shadwell is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadwell
    • Simeon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Simeon is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simeon
    • Cobham
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Cobham is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobham
    • Keene
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Eastham
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Eastham is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastham
    • Warren
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Warren is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
    • Esmont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Esmont is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esmont
  • Buckingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
    • Bridgeport
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Bridgeport is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
    • New Canton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • New Canton is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Canton
    • Arvonia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Gold Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Gold Hill is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Hill
    • Centenary
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Centenary is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centenary
    • Gravel Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Gravel Hill is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Hill
    • Axtell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Axtell is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axtell
    • Glenmore
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Glenmore is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
    • Dillwyn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Manteo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Manteo is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteo
    • Buckingham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Vinco
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Mount Vinco is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vinco
  • Charlottesville City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
    • Belmont
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Belmont is located in Charlottesville City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
    • Charlottesville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Locust Grove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Locust Grove is located in Charlottesville City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
    • Lakeside Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Lakeside Village is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside Village
    • Trenton Mills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Trenton Mills is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton Mills
    • Trents Mill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Trents Mill is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trents Mill
    • Clinton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Clinton is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
    • Cumberland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Guinea Mills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Guinea Mills is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guinea Mills
  • Goochland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
    • Caledonia
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Caledonia is located in Goochland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
    • Tabscott
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Tabscott is located in Goochland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabscott
    • Fife
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Hadensville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Enon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Enon is located in Goochland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enon
    • Sandy Hook
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Sandy Hook is located in Goochland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Hook
    • Goochland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Maidens
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Thorncliff
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Thorncliff is located in Goochland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorncliff
    • Oilville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
    • Dawsonville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Dawsonville is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawsonville
    • Quinque
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Quinque is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinque
    • Amicus
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Amicus is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amicus
  • Hanover County
    • Vontay
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Vontay is located in Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vontay
  • Louisa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
    • Bells Crossroads
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Bells Crossroads is located in Louisa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells Crossroads
    • Medlock
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Medlock is located in Louisa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medlock
    • Vigor
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Vigor is located in Louisa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vigor
    • Trevilians
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Trevilians is located in Louisa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trevilians
    • Green Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Green Springs is located in Louisa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Springs
    • Louisa
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Meltons
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Meltons is located in Louisa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meltons
    • Cuckoo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Cuckoo is located in Louisa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuckoo
    • Shelfar
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Shelfar is located in Louisa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelfar
    • Gays ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Gays is located in Louisa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays
    • Mineral
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Pendleton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Pendleton is located in Louisa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pendleton
  • Madison County
    • Madison Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Madison Mills is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Mills
  • Nelson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
    • Schuyler
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Faber
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Warminster
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Warminster is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warminster
    • Rockfish
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Rockfish is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockfish
    • Adial
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Adial is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adial
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
    • Gordonsville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Barboursville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Madison Run
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Madison Run is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Run
    • Montpelier Station
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Orange
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Danton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Danton is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danton
  • Powhatan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
    • Beaumont
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Beaumont is located in Powhatan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaumont
    • Michaux
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Michaux is located in Powhatan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michaux
    • Belona
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Belona is located in Powhatan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belona
  • Spotsylvania County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockaway, with the one closest to Rockaway listed first.
    • Holladay
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Holladay is located in Spotsylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holladay
    • Childs Cove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Childs Cove is located in Spotsylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childs Cove
    • Belmont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Belmont is located in Spotsylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
    • Glenora
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Glenora is located in Spotsylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenora

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

Cemeteries Near Rockaway ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rockaway.

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 Rockaway - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rockaway covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Hope Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Bowler Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • O'Brien Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Henson Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Antioch Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Proffitt Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Grace Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Bowles Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Martin Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • New Bethel Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Trinity Presbyterian Church Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (188 more) ...
    • Little Fork Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Payne Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Bettie Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)

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>

While we didn't find Rockaway in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rockaway.

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

  • Palmyra
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Carysbrook
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Carysbrook is located in Fluvanna County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carysbrook
  • Wilmington
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Wilmington is located in Fluvanna County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
  • Fork Union
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Union Mills
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Union Mills is located in Fluvanna County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Mills
  • Bybee
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bybee is located in Fluvanna County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bybee
  • Stage Junction
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Stage Junction is located in Fluvanna County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stage Junction
  • Kents Store
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Kents Store is located in Fluvanna County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kents Store
  • Columbia
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Caledonia
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Caledonia is located in Goochland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
  • Mallory ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Mallory is located in Louisa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallory
  • Antioch
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Antioch is located in Fluvanna County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
  • Continue List   (21 more) ...
    • Bremo Bluff
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Bremo Bluff is located in Fluvanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bremo Bluff
    • Woodridge
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Woodridge is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodridge
    • Hardware
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Hardware is located in Fluvanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardware

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

Newspapers Published in Rockaway ...

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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rockaway.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rockaway, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rockaway.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Rockaway:

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 Rockaway, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rockaway) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.