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 Shaw Ferry (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 Shaw Ferry. 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 hospitals and 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.
Shaw Ferry is located in Grayson 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 Grayson County: Alleghany (NC), Ashe (NC), Surry (NC), Johnson (TN), Carroll, Smyth, Washington & Wythe.
Below are the counties that are near Shaw Ferry. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Shaw Ferry:
- Grayson County (The home county of Shaw Ferry)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shaw Ferry, with the one closest to Shaw Ferry listed first.
- Baywood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Baywood is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
- Independence
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Low Gap
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Low Gap is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Fries
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bridle Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Elk Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mouth-of-Wilson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Flat Ridge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Flat Ridge is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Ridge
- Rugby
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Rugby is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Trout Dale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Whitetop
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shaw Ferry, with the one closest to Shaw Ferry listed first.
- Pipers Gap
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
- Oak Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Drenn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Drenn is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
- Woodlawn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lambsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Sheep Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
- Shorts Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
- Fancy Gap
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Hillsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cana
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Star
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Star is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Sylvatus
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
- Gladesboro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Gladesboro is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesboro
- Galax City
- Galax
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shaw Ferry, with the one closest to Shaw Ferry listed first.
- Sugar Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Atkins
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Carmel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Marion
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shaw Ferry, with the one closest to Shaw Ferry listed first.
- Speedwell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Ivanhoe
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Rowe Crossroads
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
- Austinville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Crockett
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Siloam
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Siloam is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Wytheville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rural Retreat
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Chiswell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
- Kent
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Locust Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Max Meadows
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Alleghany County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shaw Ferry, with the one closest to Shaw Ferry listed first.
- Ennice
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Edmonds
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Edmonds is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
- Hooker
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Sparta
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Sparta is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,723 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sparta <1>
- Amelia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Glade Valley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Piney Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Roaring Gap
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Topia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Topia is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
- Scottville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ashe County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shaw Ferry, with the one closest to Shaw Ferry listed first.
- Grassy Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Weavers Ford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Weavers Ford is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weavers Ford
- Transou
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Transou is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transou
- Crumpler
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Wagoner
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Wagoner is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagoner
- Helton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Helton is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helton
- Orion
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Orion is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
- Sturgills
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Sturgills is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgills
- Glendale Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Brandon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Brandon is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
- Jefferson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lansing
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Obids
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Obids is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obids
- Surry County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shaw Ferry, with the one closest to Shaw Ferry listed first.
- Low Gap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Devotion
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Devotion is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devotion
- Round Peak
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Round Peak is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Peak
- Thurmond
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Park is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Park
- Zephyr
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Zephyr is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zephyr
- Red Brush
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Red Brush is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Brush
- State Road
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dobson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mulberry
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mulberry is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Toast
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Toast is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toast
- Elkin Valley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Elkin Valley is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkin Valley
- Elkin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wilkes County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shaw Ferry, with the one closest to Shaw Ferry listed first.
- Abshers
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Abshers is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abshers
- Moxley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Moxley is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moxley
- Traphill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Springfield ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Springfield is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Zebra ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Zebra is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zebra
- McGrady
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- McGrady is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGrady
- Dehart
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Dehart is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dehart
- Lomax
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Lomax is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomax
- Hays
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Mulberry
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Mulberry is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Pleasant Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Roaring River
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Roaring River is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaring River
- Ronda
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Yadkin County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shaw Ferry, with the one closest to Shaw Ferry listed first.
- Jonesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Arlington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Arlington is located in Yadkin County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Shaw Ferry, see our County-by-County Page for Shaw Ferry.
Cemeteries Near Shaw Ferry ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shaw Ferry.
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 Shaw Ferry - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Shaw Ferry covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Shaw Ferry, with the one closest to Shaw Ferry listed first.
- Pleasant Home Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Benjamin Moore Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Crab Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Independence Town Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Cox Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- New Haven Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Summerfield UMC Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Higgins Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Nuckolls Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sparta Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Continue List (652 more) ...
- Laurel Glenn Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Little Pine Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Savannah Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
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 Shaw Ferry in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Shaw Ferry.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Shaw Ferry, with the one closest to Shaw Ferry listed first.
- Peach Bottom
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Peach Bottom is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Bottom
- Edwards Crossroads
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Edwards Crossroads is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards Crossroads
- Independence
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Ennice
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Carsonville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Carsonville is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carsonville
- Sparta
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Sparta is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,723 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sparta <1>
- Hooker
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Edmonds
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Edmonds is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
- Amelia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Stevens Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Stevens Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens Creek
- Spring Valley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Spring Valley is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Bridle Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Whitehead
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Whitehead is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehead
- Elk Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fallville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Fallville is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Shaw Ferry. See our List of 1890's Communities around Shaw Ferry.
Newspapers Published in Shaw Ferry ...
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 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shaw Ferry.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shaw Ferry, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shaw Ferry.
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 Shaw Ferry:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Grayson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carroll County
- Galax City
- Smyth County
- Wythe County
- Alleghany County
- Ashe County
- Surry County
- Wilkes County
- Yadkin 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 Shaw Ferry, 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- Shaw Ferry) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |