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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 Shenandoah (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 Shenandoah. 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 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.

Shenandoah is located in Page 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 Page County: Greene, Madison, Rappahannock, Rockingham, Shenandoah & Warren.

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

  • Page County     (The home county of Shenandoah)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenandoah, with the one closest to Shenandoah listed first.
    • Verbena
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Verbena is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbena
    • Stanley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Marksville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Marksville is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marksville
    • Leaksville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Leaksville is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaksville
    • Luray
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Kimball
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Kimball is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball
    • Rileyville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Albemarle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenandoah, with the one closest to Shenandoah listed first.
    • Cedarmere
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Cedarmere is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
    • Boonesville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Boonesville is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonesville
    • Mountfair
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Mountfair is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountfair
    • Advance Mills Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Advance Mills Village is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advance Mills Village
    • Free Union
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Advance Mills
      (23 miles [37 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
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • White Hall
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • White Hall is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
    • Decca ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Decca is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decca
    • Logan Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Logan Village is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Village
    • Burnley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Burnley is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnley
    • Hollymead
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Hollymead is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollymead
    • Gilbert
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Gilbert is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert
  • Augusta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenandoah, with the one closest to Shenandoah listed first.
    • Grottoes
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Weyers Cave
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Sampson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Sampson is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampson
    • Crimora
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Solon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Verona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Dooms
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Dooms is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooms
    • Parnassus
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Parnassus is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
    • Stokesville ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Stokesville is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokesville
  • Culpeper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenandoah, with the one closest to Shenandoah listed first.
    • Griffinsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Griffinsburg is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffinsburg
    • Waylands Mill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Waylands Mill is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waylands Mill
    • Salem
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Salem is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
    • Norman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Norman is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenandoah, with the one closest to Shenandoah listed first.
    • Kinderhook
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Kinderhook is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinderhook
    • Cedarmere ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Cedarmere is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
    • Stanardsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Amicus
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Amicus is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amicus
    • Quinque
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Quinque is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinque
    • Dawsonville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Dawsonville is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawsonville
  • Harrisonburg City
    • Harrisonburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenandoah, with the one closest to Shenandoah listed first.
    • Syria
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Hood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Ruth
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Ruth is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
    • Wolftown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Peola Mills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Peola Mills is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peola Mills
    • Madison
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Aroda
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Aroda is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aroda
    • Tryme
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Tryme is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tryme
    • Radiant
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Radiant is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radiant
    • Burnt Tree
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Burnt Tree is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Tree
    • Madison Mills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Madison Mills is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Mills
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenandoah, with the one closest to Shenandoah listed first.
    • Barboursville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Montpelier Station
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Rappahannock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenandoah, with the one closest to Shenandoah listed first.
    • Slate Mills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Slate Mills is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Mills
    • Sperryville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Scrabble
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Scrabble is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scrabble
    • Woodville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Woodville is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
    • Rediviva
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Rediviva is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rediviva
    • Washington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Rockingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenandoah, with the one closest to Shenandoah listed first.
    • Elkton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • Lacey Spring
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Lacey Spring is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey Spring
    • Berrytown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Berrytown is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berrytown
    • Swift Run
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Swift Run is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift Run
    • Massanutten
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Melrose
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Melrose is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
    • Mayland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Mayland is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayland
    • McGaheysville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Daphna
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Daphna is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daphna
    • Keezletown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Montevideo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Montevideo is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montevideo
    • Linville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Linville is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linville
    • Broadway
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Shenandoah County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenandoah, with the one closest to Shenandoah listed first.
    • New Market
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Mount Jackson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Rinkerton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Rinkerton is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rinkerton
    • Mount Clifton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Mount Clifton is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Clifton
    • Edinburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Basye - Bryce Mountain
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Orkney Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Willow Grove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Willow Grove is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Grove
    • Calvary
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Calvary is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary
    • Columbia Furnace
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Columbia Furnace is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia Furnace
    • Jerome
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jerome is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
    • Woodstock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Seven Fountains
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Seven Fountains is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Fountains
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenandoah, with the one closest to Shenandoah listed first.
    • Overall
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Overall is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overall
    • Bentonville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Hardy County (WV)
    • Mathias
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Shenandoah ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shenandoah.

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 Shenandoah - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Rinaca Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • St. Peter's Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Koontz Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Koontz Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koontz Cemetery
    • The Koontz Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Koontz Community Cemetery
  • Grove Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • McCoy Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Bear Lithia Spring Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Mowbray Family Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Blose Family Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Comer Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Dofflemyer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (389 more) ...

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Shenandoah had a population of 751 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Shenandoah had a population of 2,334 people.

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

  • Verbena
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Verbena is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbena
  • Grove Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Grove Hill is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Hill
  • Ingham
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ingham is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingham
  • Furnace
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Furnace is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace
  • Elkton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • 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>
  • Jollett
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jollett is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jollett
  • Oakwood
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Oakwood is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
  • Honeyville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Honeyville is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honeyville
  • Alma
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Alma is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
  • Paulington ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Paulington is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paulington
  • Swift Run
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Swift Run is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift Run
  • Stanley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Tenth Legion
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Tenth Legion is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenth Legion
    • Mauzy
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Mauzy is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mauzy
    • Lacey Spring
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Lacey Spring is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey Spring

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

Newspapers Published in Shenandoah ...

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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shenandoah.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shenandoah, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shenandoah.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Shenandoah:

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 Shenandoah, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Shenandoah) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.