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 Rourkes Gap (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 Rourkes Gap. 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 Rourkes Gap ...
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.
While the name of this community is Rourkes Gap, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Rourkes Gap may originally have been Rourke's Gap.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Rourkes Gap might be written as Rourke Gap.
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 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.
Rourkes Gap is located in Tazewell 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 Tazewell County: Bland, Buchanan, Russell, Smyth, McDowell (WV) & Mercer (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Rourkes Gap. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rourkes Gap:
- Tazewell County (The home county of Rourkes Gap)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rourkes Gap, with the one closest to Rourkes Gap listed first.
- Maxwell
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Maxwell is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Pisgah
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Pisgah is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Dunford Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Dunford Village is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunford Village
- Sayersville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Sayersville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayersville
- Tazewell
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Adria
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Adria is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adria
- Harman
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Harman is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harman
- Thompson Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Thompson Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson Valley
- Pounding Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bishop
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bishop is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Shraders
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Shraders is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shraders
- Five Oaks
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Five Oaks is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Oaks
- Bland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rourkes Gap, with the one closest to Rourkes Gap listed first.
- Bastian
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Bland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Hicksville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Rocky Gap
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Buchanan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rourkes Gap, with the one closest to Rourkes Gap listed first.
- Bearwallow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bearwallow is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Height
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Height is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
- Peapatch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Peapatch is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
- Jackson Flats
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson Flats is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
- Paynesville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Paynesville is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Mavisdale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Mavisdale is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mavisdale
- Rowe
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Rowe is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe
- Matney
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Matney is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matney
- Janey
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Janey is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janey
- Council
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Council is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
- Royal City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Royal City is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal City
- Vansant
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Russell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rourkes Gap, with the one closest to Rourkes Gap listed first.
- Dye
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Dye is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dye
- Honaker
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Russell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Russell is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Elk Garden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Elk Garden is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Garden
- Barnett
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Barnett is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnett
- Artrip
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Artrip is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artrip
- Lebanon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Spring City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Spring City is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring City
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rourkes Gap, with the one closest to Rourkes Gap listed first.
- Broadford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Broadford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
- Ellendale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Ellendale is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Cardwell Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cardwell Town is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardwell Town
- Allison Gap
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Allison Gap is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allison Gap
- Saltville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Marion
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Mount Carmel
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Seven Mile Ford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Seven Mile Ford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Mile Ford
- Atkins
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Chilhowie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Adwolf
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Adwolf is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adwolf
- Sugar Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rourkes Gap, with the one closest to Rourkes Gap listed first.
- Clinchburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Clinchburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinchburg
- Fleet
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Glade Spring
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Loves Mill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Loves Mill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loves Mill
- Lindell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lindell is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindell
- Friendship
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Friendship is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Glenford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Glenford is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenford
- Lodi
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lodi is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Masada
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Masada is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masada
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rourkes Gap, with the one closest to Rourkes Gap listed first.
- Rural Retreat
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Crockett
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- McDowell County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rourkes Gap, with the one closest to Rourkes Gap listed first.
- Bishop
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bishop is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Newhall
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Newhall is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhall
- War
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- War is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War
- Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
- Yukon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Yukon is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yukon
- Height
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Height is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
- Peapatch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Peapatch is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
- Gary
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Gary is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
- Thorpe
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Thorpe is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorpe
- Anawalt
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Anawalt is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
- Bradshaw
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson Flats
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson Flats is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
- Big Four
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Big Four is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Four
- Mercer County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rourkes Gap, with the one closest to Rourkes Gap listed first.
- Yards
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Yards is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Bramwell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Coopers
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Coopers is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
- Nemours
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Coaldale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Coaldale is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Freeman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Freeman is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Bluefield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Flipping
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Flipping is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
- Montcalm
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Montcalm is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcalm
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Littlesburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Littlesburg is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
- Edison
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Edison is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- Wyoming County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rourkes Gap, with the one closest to Rourkes Gap listed first.
- Woosley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Woosley is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woosley
- Stoneville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Stoneville is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneville
- Fanny
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Fanny is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanny
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rourkes Gap, see our County-by-County Page for Rourkes Gap.
Cemeteries Near Rourkes Gap ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rourkes Gap.
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 Rourkes Gap - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rourkes Gap covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rourkes Gap, with the one closest to Rourkes Gap listed first.
- Maplewood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Hezekiah Harman Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Buchanan Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Watts Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Peery Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Hartwell - Berwind Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Green Hills Memorial Gardens
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Ratcliff Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Crabtree Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Thompson Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mays Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Wilburn Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (752 more) ...
- Lowe Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Barns Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Keister Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
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 Rourkes Gap in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rourkes Gap.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rourkes Gap, with the one closest to Rourkes Gap listed first.
- Gap Store
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Gap Store is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gap Store
- Maxwell
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Maxwell is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Pisgah
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Pisgah is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Gillespie
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Gillespie is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillespie
- Sayersville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Sayersville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayersville
- Pounding Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Thompson Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Thompson Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson Valley
- Harman
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Harman is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harman
- Shraders
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Shraders is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shraders
- Five Oaks
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Five Oaks is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Oaks
- Pleasant Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Cedar Bluff
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Wittens Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
- Richlands
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Steeleburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Steeleburg is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steeleburg
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rourkes Gap. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rourkes Gap.
Newspapers Published in Rourkes Gap ...
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 9 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rourkes Gap.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rourkes Gap, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rourkes Gap.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Rourkes Gap:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Tazewell County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bland County
- Buchanan County
- Russell County
- Smyth County
- Washington County
- Wythe County
- McDowell County
- Mercer County
- Wyoming County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Virginia
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Rourkes Gap, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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 from Point A (ie- Rourkes Gap) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |