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 Rocky Ford (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 Rocky Ford. 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 Rocky Ford ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Rocky Ford: Rocky Frd.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Rocky Ford. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rocky Ford.
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 northeast 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 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.
Rocky Ford is located in Brunswick 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 Brunswick County: Warren (NC), Dinwiddie, Greensville, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg & Nottoway.
Below are the counties that are near Rocky Ford. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rocky Ford:
- Brunswick County (The home county of Rocky Ford)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Dolphin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Dolphin is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolphin
- Alberta
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Alberta is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 265 people
- Edgerton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Edgerton is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
- Callaville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Callaville is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callaville
- Lawrenceville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Totaro
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Totaro is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Totaro
- Jonesboro ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jonesboro is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
- Ezell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Ezell is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ezell
- Netta ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Netta is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Netta
- Powellton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Powellton is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
- Ante
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Ante is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ante
- Gholsonville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Gholsonville is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gholsonville
- Amelia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Ammon
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Ammon is located in Amelia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ammon
- Earls
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Earls is located in Amelia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earls
- Chesterfield County
- Matoaca
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Matoaca is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaca
- Dinwiddie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- McKenney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Oldenplace ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Oldenplace is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldenplace
- Borthwick ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Borthwick is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borthwick
- Darvills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Darvills is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darvills
- Laird ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Laird is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laird
- Waldemar ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Waldemar is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldemar
- Wilsons
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Wilsons is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsons
- Hebron
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Hebron is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Rowanta
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rowanta is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowanta
- Sutherland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Addison
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Addison is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Maitland Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Maitland Village is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maitland Village
- Emporia City
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Emporia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- White City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- White City is located in Emporia City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Greensville County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Radium
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Radium is located in Greensville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radium
- Jarratt
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Skippers
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Claresville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Claresville is located in Greensville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claresville
- Lunenburg County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Dundas
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Dundas is located in Lunenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundas
- Lochleven
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Lochleven is located in Lunenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lochleven
- Kenbridge
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Bagleys Mills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Bagleys Mills is located in Lunenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagleys Mills
- Oral Oaks
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Oral Oaks is located in Lunenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oral Oaks
- Victoria
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Wattsboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Wattsboro is located in Lunenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsboro
- Lunenburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Lunenburg is located in Lunenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lunenburg
- Nutbush
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Nutbush is located in Lunenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutbush
- Mecklenburg County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- La Crosse
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- South Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Opie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Opie is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Opie
- Hagood
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hagood is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagood
- Marengo
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Marengo is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
- Ogburn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Ogburn is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogburn
- Bracey
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Union Level
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Union Level is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Level
- Dunns Corner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Dunns Corner is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunns Corner
- Wightman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Wightman is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wightman
- Nottoway County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Forkland ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Forkland is located in Nottoway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forkland
- Blackstone
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Spainville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Spainville is located in Nottoway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spainville
- Winnie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Winnie is located in Nottoway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnie
- Crewe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Burkeville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Prince George County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Talpa ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Talpa is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talpa
- Derby ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Derby is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
- Southampton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Adams Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Adams Grove is located in Southampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams Grove
- Drewryville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Koskoo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Koskoo is located in Southampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koskoo
- Spotsylvania County
- Brokenburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Brokenburg is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brokenburg
- Sussex County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Stony Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Grizzard
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Grizzard is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grizzard
- Henry
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Henry is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
- Mason
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Mason is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
- Sussex
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Sussex is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sussex
- Yale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Yale is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yale
- Halifax County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Belmont
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Belmont is located in Halifax County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Roanoke Rapids
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- South Rosemary
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- South Rosemary is located in Halifax County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Rosemary
- Littleton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Northampton County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Henrico
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Gaston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Gaston is located in Northampton County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,022 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gaston <1>
- Pleasant Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Warren County (NC)
- Church Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Church Hill is located in Warren County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Church Hill
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rocky Ford, see our County-by-County Page for Rocky Ford.
Cemeteries Near Rocky Ford ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rocky Ford.
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 Rocky Ford - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rocky Ford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Barnes Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Johnson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- St. James Episcopal Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Perkinson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Olive Branch Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Raney Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bragg Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Johnson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Elmore Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Flinn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- St. Marks Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Abernathy Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (246 more) ...
- Trinity Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Stewart Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Emmanuel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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 Rocky Ford in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rocky Ford.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Sturgeonville
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Sturgeonville is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgeonville
- Octagon
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Octagon is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Octagon
- Edgerton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Edgerton is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
- Ordsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ordsburg is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ordsburg
- Callaville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Callaville is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callaville
- Edmunds Store
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Edmunds Store is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmunds Store
- Lawrenceville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Meredithville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Meredithville is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredithville
- Oldenplace ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Oldenplace is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldenplace
- Totaro
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Totaro is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Totaro
- Barrows Store
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Barrows Store is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrows Store
- Pleasant Shade
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Shade is located in Greensville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Shade
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Westboro ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Westboro is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westboro
- Jonesboro ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jonesboro is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
- Ezell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Ezell is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ezell
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rocky Ford. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rocky Ford.
Newspapers Published in Rocky Ford ...
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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rocky Ford.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rocky Ford, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rocky Ford.
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 Rocky Ford:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Brunswick County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Amelia County
- Chesterfield County
- Dinwiddie County
- Emporia City
- Greensville County
- Lunenburg County
- Mecklenburg County
- Nottoway County
- Prince George County
- Southampton County
- Spotsylvania County
- Sussex County
- Halifax County
- Northampton County
- Warren 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 Rocky Ford, 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 from Point A (ie- Rocky Ford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |