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 River (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 River. 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 Sandy River ...
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 Sandy River: Sandy Riv.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sandy River. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sandy River.
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 southwest 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 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 River is located in Pittsylvania 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 Pittsylvania County: Caswell (NC), Rockingham (NC), Bedford, Campbell, Franklin, Halifax & Henry.
Below are the counties that are near Sandy River. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sandy River:
- Pittsylvania County (The home county of Sandy River)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy River, with the one closest to Sandy River listed first.
- Grady
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Grady is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Swansonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Swansonville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swansonville
- Worlds
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Worlds is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worlds
- Mount Cross
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Cross is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cross
- Cascade
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Cascade is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
- Weal
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Weal is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weal
- Ridgecrest
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Ridgecrest is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgecrest
- Museville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Museville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Museville
- Tightsqueeze
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Tightsqueeze is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tightsqueeze
- Chatham
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Chatham is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,413 people
- Whittles
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Whittles is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittles
- Whittles has also been known as:
- Whittle's Depot
- Whittle's Station
- Spring Garden
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Spring Garden is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Bedford County
- Radford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Radford is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford
- Danville City
- Danville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy River, with the one closest to Sandy River listed first.
- Laprades Mill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Laprades Mill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laprades Mill
- Sydnorsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sydnorsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydnorsville
- Penhook
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Union Hall
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Henry
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Prilliman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Prilliman is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prilliman
- Redwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Redwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Felicia ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Felicia is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felicia
- Barfoot
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Barfoot is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfoot
- Rocky Mount
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- North Shore
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- North Shore is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shore
- Ferrum
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Halifax County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy River, with the one closest to Sandy River listed first.
- Sutherlin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Sutherlin is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherlin
- Delila
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Delila is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delila
- Elmo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Elmo is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmo
- Sign Rock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Sign Rock is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sign Rock
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy River, with the one closest to Sandy River listed first.
- Axton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Leatherwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Leatherwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Laurel Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Laurel Park is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
- Irisburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Irisburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irisburg
- Chatmoss
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Chatmoss is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatmoss
- Sandy Level
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Sandy Level is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Level
- Collinsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Villa Heights
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Villa Heights is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Heights
- Ridgeway
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Reed Creek Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Reed Creek Village is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed Creek Village
- Fieldale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Oak Level
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Oak Level is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Madison County
- Beaver Park
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Beaver Park is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Park
- Martinsville City
- Martinsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Patrick County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy River, with the one closest to Sandy River listed first.
- Stella
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Stella is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Dodson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Dodson is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodson
- Critz
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Nettleridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Nettleridge is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettleridge
- Elamsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Elamsville is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elamsville
- Patrick Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Caswell County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy River, with the one closest to Sandy River listed first.
- Pelham
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pelham is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Whitetown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Whitetown is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitetown
- Gatewood
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Gatewood is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatewood
- Bethel
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Providence
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Providence is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Quick
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Quick is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quick
- Blanch
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- West Yanceyville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- West Yanceyville is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yanceyville
- Estelle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Estelle is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
- Locust Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Locust Hill is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Milton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ashland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ashland is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Rockingham County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy River, with the one closest to Sandy River listed first.
- Draper ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Draper is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draper
- Meadow Summit
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Meadow Summit is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Summit
- Spray ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Spray is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spray
- Fairview
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Eden
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Eden is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,867 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eden <1>
- Matrimony
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Matrimony is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matrimony
- College Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- College Village is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Village
- Ruffin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Providence
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Providence is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Shiloh
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Shiloh is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Stoneville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lawsonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Lawsonville is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
- Stokes County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy River, with the one closest to Sandy River listed first.
- Amostown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Amostown is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amostown
- Sandy Ridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Ridge is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sandy River, see our County-by-County Page for Sandy River.
Cemeteries Near Sandy River ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sandy River.
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 River - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sandy River covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sandy River, with the one closest to Sandy River listed first.
- Gregory Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wyatt Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Johnson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lawrence Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Wilson Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Davis - Martin Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Martin - Davis Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jamison Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Eggleston Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Barrow Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Rogers Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Oakes Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Continue List (647 more) ...
- Boones Chapel Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Walker Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Wingfield Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Sandy River had a population of 36 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sandy River, with the one closest to Sandy River listed first.
- Swansonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Swansonville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swansonville
- Grady
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Grady is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Axton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Leatherwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Leatherwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Stockton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Stockton is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
- Vance
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Vance is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
- Brosville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Brosville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brosville
- Whitmell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Whitmell is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitmell
- Banister
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Banister is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banister
- Callands
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Callands is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callands
- Irisburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Irisburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irisburg
- Aiken Summit
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Aiken Summit is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aiken Summit
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Worlds
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Worlds is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worlds
- Bachelors Hall
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bachelors Hall is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bachelors Hall
- Mount Cross
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Cross is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cross
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sandy River. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sandy River.
Newspapers Published in Sandy River ...
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 19 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sandy River.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sandy River, 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 Sandy River.
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 professional and volunteer 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 River:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Pittsylvania County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford County
- Danville City
- Franklin County
- Halifax County
- Henry County
- Madison County
- Martinsville City
- Patrick County
- Caswell County
- Rockingham County
- Stokes 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 Sandy River, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Sandy River) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |