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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 Sandy Bottom (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 Sandy Bottom. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Sandy Bottom is located in Rockingham 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 Rockingham County: Albemarle, Augusta, Greene, Page, Shenandoah, Hardy (WV) & Pendleton (WV).

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

  • Rockingham County     (The home county of Sandy Bottom)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Bottom, with the one closest to Sandy Bottom listed first.
    • Swift Run
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Swift Run is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift Run
    • Elkton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Elkton is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,914 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elkton <1>
    • Berrytown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Berrytown is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berrytown
    • McGaheysville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Massanutten
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Montevideo
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Montevideo is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montevideo
    • Goods Mill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Goods Mill is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goods Mill
    • Keezletown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Cross Keys
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Massanetta Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Massanetta Springs is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massanetta Springs
    • Melrose
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Melrose is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
    • Lacey Spring
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lacey Spring is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey Spring
    • Linville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Linville is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linville
  • Albemarle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Bottom, with the one closest to Sandy Bottom listed first.
    • Boonesville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Boonesville is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonesville
    • Cedarmere
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Cedarmere is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
    • Free Union
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Mountfair
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Mountfair is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountfair
    • Advance Mills Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Advance Mills Village is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advance Mills Village
    • Advance Mills
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Advance Mills is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advance Mills
      • Advance Mills has also been known as:
      • Fray's Mills
    • Earlysville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Logan Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Logan Village is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Village
    • White Hall
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • White Hall is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
    • Decca ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Decca is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decca
    • Gilbert
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Gilbert is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert
    • Hollymead
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Hollymead is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollymead
    • Jefferson Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jefferson Village is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Village
  • Augusta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Bottom, with the one closest to Sandy Bottom listed first.
    • Grottoes
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Weyers Cave
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Sampson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Sampson is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampson
    • Crimora
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Dooms
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Dooms is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooms
    • Verona
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Fishersville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Solon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Brand
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Brand is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brand
    • Lyndhurst
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Parnassus
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Parnassus is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
    • Stokesville ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Stokesville is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokesville
  • Charlottesville City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Bottom, with the one closest to Sandy Bottom listed first.
    • Charlottesville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Locust Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Locust Grove is located in Charlottesville City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
    • Belmont
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Belmont is located in Charlottesville City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
  • Culpeper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Bottom, with the one closest to Sandy Bottom listed first.
    • Waylands Mill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Waylands Mill is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waylands Mill
    • Griffinsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Griffinsburg is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffinsburg
    • Norman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Norman is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
    • Salem
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Salem is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Bottom, with the one closest to Sandy Bottom listed first.
    • Cedarmere ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Cedarmere is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
    • Kinderhook
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Kinderhook is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinderhook
    • Amicus
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Amicus is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amicus
    • Stanardsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Quinque
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Quinque is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinque
    • Dawsonville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Dawsonville is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawsonville
  • Harrisonburg City
    • Harrisonburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Louisa County
    • Meltons
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Meltons is located in Louisa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meltons
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Bottom, with the one closest to Sandy Bottom listed first.
    • Hood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Wolftown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Ruth
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Ruth is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
    • Syria
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Madison
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Aroda
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Aroda is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aroda
    • Radiant
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Radiant is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radiant
    • Burnt Tree
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Burnt Tree is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Tree
    • Peola Mills
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Peola Mills is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peola Mills
    • Tryme
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Tryme is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tryme
    • Madison Mills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • 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 Sandy Bottom, with the one closest to Sandy Bottom listed first.
    • Afton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Durrett Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Durrett Town is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durrett Town
    • Onan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Onan is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onan
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Bottom, with the one closest to Sandy Bottom listed first.
    • Barboursville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Montpelier Station
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Gordonsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Orange
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Madison Run
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Madison Run is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Run
  • Page County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Bottom, with the one closest to Sandy Bottom listed first.
    • Verbena
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Verbena is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbena
    • Shenandoah
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Marksville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Marksville is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marksville
    • Stanley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Leaksville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Leaksville is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaksville
    • Luray
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Kimball
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Kimball is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball
    • Rileyville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Rappahannock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Bottom, with the one closest to Sandy Bottom listed first.
    • Slate Mills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Slate Mills is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Mills
    • Scrabble
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Scrabble is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scrabble
    • Sperryville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Woodville is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
    • Rediviva
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Rediviva is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rediviva
  • Shenandoah County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Bottom, with the one closest to Sandy Bottom listed first.
    • New Market
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Mount Jackson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Rinkerton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Rinkerton is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rinkerton
    • Mount Clifton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Mount Clifton is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Clifton
  • Staunton City
    • Staunton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Waynesboro City
    • Waynesboro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Sandy Bottom ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sandy Bottom.

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 Sandy Bottom - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Maiden Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Baugher Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Baugher Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baugher Family Cemetery
    • The Baugher Family Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Angus Baugher Family Cemetery
  • Williams Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Asa Baugher Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Shipp Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipp Family Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Shipp Family Cemetery is located outside and to the southeast of Swift Run.
  • Davis Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Daniel Baugher Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Naylor Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naylor Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Naylor Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the southeast of Elkton.
  • High Top Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. James Mission Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Lydia Free Pentecostal Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (421 more) ...
    • Dean Family Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ed Hensley Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ed Hensley Cemetery
      • The Ed Hensley Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Hensley Family Cemetery
    • Wyatt Mtn. Mission Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 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 Sandy Bottom in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sandy Bottom.

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

  • Swift Run
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Swift Run is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift Run
  • Elkton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Elkton is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,914 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elkton <1>
  • McMullen
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • McMullen is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMullen
  • Furnace
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Furnace is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace
  • Boonesville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Boonesville is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonesville
  • Almond ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Almond is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almond
  • Verbena
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Verbena is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbena
  • Amicus
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Amicus is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amicus
  • Stanardsville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Fletcher
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Fletcher is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
  • Jollett
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jollett is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jollett
  • McGaheysville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Shenandoah
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Lynnwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Lynnwood is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood
    • Hood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Sandy Bottom ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sandy Bottom.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sandy Bottom, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sandy Bottom.

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 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 Sandy Bottom:

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Sandy Bottom) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Sandy Bottom, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.