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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 Shields (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 Shields. 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 and 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.

Shields is located in Prince Edward 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 Prince Edward County: Amelia, Appomattox, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg & Nottoway.

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

  • Prince Edward County     (The home county of Shields)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shields, with the one closest to Shields listed first.
    • Five Forks
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Five Forks is located in Prince Edward County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
    • Darlington Heights
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Darlington Heights is located in Prince Edward County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington Heights
    • Tuggle
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Tuggle is located in Prince Edward County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuggle
    • Blake Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Blake Village is located in Prince Edward County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake Village
    • Hampden - Sydney
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Hampden - Sydney is located in Prince Edward County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampden - Sydney
    • Farmville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Green Bay
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Amelia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shields, with the one closest to Shields listed first.
    • Rodophil
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Rodophil is located in Amelia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodophil
    • Paineville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Paineville is located in Amelia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paineville
  • Amherst County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shields, with the one closest to Shields listed first.
    • Walkers Ford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Walkers Ford is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkers Ford
    • Joshua Falls
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Joshua Falls is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joshua Falls
    • Madison Heights
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Coolwell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Coolwell is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
    • New Glasgow
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • New Glasgow is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Glasgow
    • Sweet Briar Station
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
  • Appomattox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shields, with the one closest to Shields listed first.
    • Pamplin City
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Hurtsville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Hurtsville is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurtsville
    • Evergreen
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Evergreen is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
    • Chap
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Chap is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chap
    • Appomattox
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Spout Spring
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Spout Spring is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spout Spring
    • Spring Mills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Spring Mills is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Mills
    • Beckham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Beckham is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckham
    • Bent Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Bent Creek is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
    • Mineral ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Mineral is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
  • Buckingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shields, with the one closest to Shields listed first.
    • Forbes ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Forbes is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbes
    • Sheppards
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Sheppards is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheppards
    • Andersonville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Curdsville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Curdsville is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curdsville
    • Toga
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Toga is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toga
    • Enonville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Enonville is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enonville
    • Alcoma
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Alcoma is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcoma
    • Buckingham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Dillwyn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Vinco
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Mount Vinco is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vinco
    • Gravel Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Gravel Hill is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Hill
    • Glenmore
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Glenmore is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
    • Gold Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Gold Hill is located in Buckingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Hill
  • Campbell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shields, with the one closest to Shields listed first.
    • Hat Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Hat Creek is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hat Creek
    • Concord
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Mount Zion
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Mount Zion is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
    • Brookneal
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Athos ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Mount Athos is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Athos
    • Gladys
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Rustburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Melrose
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Melrose is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
    • Yellow Branch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
    • Lawyers
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Lawyers is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
  • Charlotte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shields, with the one closest to Shields listed first.
    • Cullen
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Cullen is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullen
    • Abilene
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Abilene is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abilene
    • Rough Creek
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Rough Creek is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rough Creek
    • Phenix
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Phenix is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phenix
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
    • Charlotte Court House
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Abell ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Abell is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abell
    • Drakes Branch
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Keysville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Aspenwall
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Aspenwall is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspenwall
    • Wylliesburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shields, with the one closest to Shields listed first.
    • Cotton Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Cotton Town is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Town
    • Guinea Mills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Guinea Mills is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guinea Mills
    • Cumberland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Trents Mill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Trents Mill is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trents Mill
  • Halifax County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shields, with the one closest to Shields listed first.
    • Rabat
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Rabat is located in Halifax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabat
    • Nathalie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Clover
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Loftis
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Loftis is located in Halifax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loftis
  • Lunenburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shields, with the one closest to Shields listed first.
    • Meherrin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Meherrin is located in Lunenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meherrin
    • Pleasant Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Pleasant Grove is located in Lunenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
    • Nutbush
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Nutbush is located in Lunenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutbush
    • Lunenburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Lunenburg is located in Lunenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lunenburg
    • Victoria
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Lynchburg City
    • Lynchburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Mecklenburg County
    • Finneywood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Finneywood is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finneywood
  • Nelson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shields, with the one closest to Shields listed first.
    • Gladstone
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Buffalo Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Buffalo Springs is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Springs
    • Norwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Norwood is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
    • Warminster
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Warminster is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warminster
  • Nottoway County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shields, with the one closest to Shields listed first.
    • Burkeville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Crewe
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Crewe is located in Nottoway County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crewe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,116 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crewe <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Shields ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shields.

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

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

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

  • Oaks Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Old Olive Branch UMC Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Olive Branch UMC Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Baldwin Family Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Buffalo Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Sulphur Spring Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Lyle Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Bethpeor Baptist Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Bethpeor Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Ann Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Spring Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (163 more) ...
    • Prospect Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Little Rock Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Evergreen Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)

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 Shields in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Shields.

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

  • Pamplin City
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Five Forks
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Five Forks is located in Prince Edward County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
  • Hixburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Hixburg is located in Appomattox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hixburg
  • Madisonville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Madisonville is located in Charlotte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madisonville
  • Darlington Heights
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Darlington Heights is located in Prince Edward County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington Heights
  • Prospect
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Tredway ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Tredway is located in Prince Edward County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tredway
  • Hurtsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Hurtsville is located in Appomattox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurtsville
  • Evergreen
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Evergreen is located in Appomattox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
  • Hollywood
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hollywood is located in Appomattox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
  • Tuggle
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Tuggle is located in Prince Edward County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuggle
  • County Line Cross Roads
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Hampden - Sydney
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Hampden - Sydney is located in Prince Edward County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampden - Sydney
    • Chap
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Chap is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chap
    • Rough Creek
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Rough Creek is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rough Creek

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

Newspapers Published in Shields ...

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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shields.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shields, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shields.

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 Shields:

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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Shields) 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 Shields, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.