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 Sam (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 Sam. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Sam 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 Sam. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sam:
- Tazewell County (The home county of Sam)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sam, with the one closest to Sam listed first.
- Saint Clair
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- Bluefield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Falls Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Yards
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Yards is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Boissevain
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Boissevain is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boissevain
- Pocahontas
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
- Springville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Springville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Shawver Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
- Abbs Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Abbs Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
- Little Town
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Little Town is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
- Wittens Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
- Five Oaks
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Five Oaks is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Oaks
- Adria
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Adria is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adria
- Bland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sam, with the one closest to Sam listed first.
- Hicksville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Rocky Gap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Bastian
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Round Bottom
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Round Bottom is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
- Bland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mechanicsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
- Buchanan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sam, with the one closest to Sam listed first.
- Bearwallow
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Bearwallow is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Peapatch
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Peapatch is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
- Height
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Height is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
- Jackson Flats
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Jackson Flats is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
- Paynesville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Paynesville is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Giles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sam, with the one closest to Sam listed first.
- Glen Lyn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Glen Lyn is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Lyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Shumate
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Shumate is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
- Lurich
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lurich is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich
- Narrows
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Rich Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Thessalia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Thessalia is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
- Pulaski County
- Sassin ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Sassin is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sam, with the one closest to Sam listed first.
- Ellendale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ellendale is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Atkins
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Mount Carmel
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Broadford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Broadford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
- Marion
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sam, with the one closest to Sam listed first.
- Rural Retreat
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Wytheville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Crockett
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Kent
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Rowe Crossroads
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
- Max Meadows
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Chiswell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
- Speedwell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Locust Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Siloam
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Siloam is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Logan County (WV)
- Rich Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Rich Creek is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
- McDowell County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sam, with the one closest to Sam listed first.
- Anawalt
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Anawalt is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
- Elkhorn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Elkhorn is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
- Kyle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Kyle is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
- Thorpe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Thorpe is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorpe
- Bishop
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Bishop is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Northfork
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Keystone
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gary
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Gary is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
- Big Four
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Big Four is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Four
- Kimball
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Newhall
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Newhall is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhall
- Welch
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Welch is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,575 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welch <1>
- War
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- War is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War
- Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
- Mercer County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sam, with the one closest to Sam listed first.
- Nemours
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Yards
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Yards is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Coopers
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Coopers is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
- Bluefield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bramwell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Freeman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Freeman is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Coaldale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Coaldale is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Flipping
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Flipping is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
- Littlesburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Littlesburg is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Montcalm
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Montcalm is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcalm
- Edison
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Edison is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- El Centro ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- El Centro is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Centro
- Raleigh County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sam, with the one closest to Sam listed first.
- Rhodell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Rhodell is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
- Eastgulf
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Eastgulf is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastgulf
- Helen
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Helen is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen
- Ury
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Ury is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ury
- Princewick
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Princewick is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princewick
- Slab Fork
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Slab Fork is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab Fork
- Stotesbury
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Stotesbury is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stotesbury
- Summers County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sam, with the one closest to Sam listed first.
- Pipestem
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mercers Saltworks ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mercers Saltworks is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercers Saltworks
- Wyoming County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sam, with the one closest to Sam listed first.
- Bud
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Bud is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
- Mullens
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Woosley
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Woosley is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woosley
- Mullensville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mullensville is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullensville
- Pineville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fanny
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fanny is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanny
- Stoneville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stoneville is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneville
- Wyoming
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wyoming is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
- Keyrock
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Keyrock is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyrock
- Rock View
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rock View is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock View
- Baileysville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Baileysville is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileysville
- Turkey
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Turkey is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sam, see our County-by-County Page for Sam.
Cemeteries Near Sam ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sam.
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 Sam - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sam covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sam, with the one closest to Sam listed first.
- Tabor Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Valley Vista Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Grandview Memory Gardens
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Dudley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Wagner Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Perdus Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Wagner Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Wilburn Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Billips Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wagner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bowman Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Maple Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Continue List (475 more) ...
- St. Lukes Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Mullin Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Compton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
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 Sam in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sam.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sam, with the one closest to Sam listed first.
- Saint Clair
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- Bailey
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bailey is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Falls Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Springville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Springville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Cove Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cove Creek is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Creek
- Abbs Valley ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Abbs Valley is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
- Pocahontas
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
- Shawver Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
- Coopers
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Coopers is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
- Stowersville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stowersville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stowersville
- Bluefield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Freeman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Freeman is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Bramwell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Gratton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Gratton is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gratton
- Grapefield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Grapefield is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapefield
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sam. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sam.
Newspapers Published in Sam ...
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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sam.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sam, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sam.
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 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 Sam:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Tazewell County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bland County
- Buchanan County
- Giles County
- Pulaski County
- Smyth County
- Wythe County
- Logan County
- McDowell County
- Mercer County
- Raleigh County
- Summers County
- Wyoming 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> | 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 Sam, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Sam) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |