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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 Simmons Gap (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 Simmons Gap. 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 Simmons Gap ...

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.

While the name of this community is Simmons Gap, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Simmons Gap may originally have been Simmon's Gap.

Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Simmons Gap might be written as Simmon Gap.

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Simmons Gap is located in Greene 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 Greene County: Albemarle, Madison, Orange, Page & Rockingham.

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

  • Greene County     (The home county of Simmons Gap)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmons Gap, with the one closest to Simmons Gap listed first.
    • Cedarmere ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Cedarmere is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
    • Amicus
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Amicus is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amicus
    • Stanardsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Kinderhook
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Kinderhook is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinderhook
    • Quinque
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Quinque is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinque
    • Dawsonville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Dawsonville is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawsonville
  • Albemarle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmons Gap, with the one closest to Simmons Gap listed first.
    • Cedarmere
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Cedarmere is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
    • Boonesville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Boonesville is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonesville
    • Mountfair
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Mountfair is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountfair
    • Free Union
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • White Hall
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • White Hall is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
    • Advance Mills Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Advance Mills Village is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advance Mills Village
    • Advance Mills
      (12 miles [19.3 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
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Decca ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Decca is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decca
    • Logan Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Logan Village is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Village
    • Hollymead
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Hollymead is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollymead
    • Jefferson Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jefferson Village is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Village
    • Commonwealth
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Commonwealth is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commonwealth
  • Augusta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmons Gap, with the one closest to Simmons Gap listed first.
    • Grottoes
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Sampson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Sampson is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampson
    • Crimora
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Weyers Cave
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Dooms
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Dooms is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooms
    • Verona
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Fishersville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Brand
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Brand is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brand
    • Lyndhurst
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Solon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Parnassus
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Parnassus is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
    • Jolivue
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jolivue is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jolivue
    • Lipscomb
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Lipscomb is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lipscomb
  • Charlottesville City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmons Gap, with the one closest to Simmons Gap listed first.
    • Locust Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Locust Grove is located in Charlottesville City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
    • Belmont
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Belmont is located in Charlottesville City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
    • Charlottesville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Culpeper County
    • Waylands Mill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Waylands Mill is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waylands Mill
  • Fluvanna County
    • Lake Monticello
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Lake Monticello is located in Fluvanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Monticello
  • 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 Simmons Gap, with the one closest to Simmons Gap listed first.
    • Hood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Wolftown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Ruth
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Ruth is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
    • Madison
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Syria
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Aroda
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Aroda is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aroda
    • Radiant
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Radiant is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radiant
    • Burnt Tree
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Burnt Tree is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Tree
    • Madison Mills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Madison Mills is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Mills
    • Peola Mills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Peola Mills is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peola Mills
    • Tryme
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Tryme is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tryme
  • Nelson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmons Gap, with the one closest to Simmons Gap listed first.
    • Afton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Durrett Town
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Durrett Town is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durrett Town
    • Onan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Onan is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onan
    • Greenfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Greenfield is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
    • Lodebar
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lodebar is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodebar
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmons Gap, with the one closest to Simmons Gap listed first.
    • Barboursville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Montpelier Station
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Gordonsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Madison Run
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Madison Run is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Run
    • Orange
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Page County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmons Gap, with the one closest to Simmons Gap listed first.
    • Verbena
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Verbena is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbena
    • Shenandoah
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Marksville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Marksville is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marksville
    • Stanley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Leaksville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Leaksville is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaksville
    • Luray
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Kimball
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Kimball is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball
  • Rappahannock County
    • Slate Mills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Slate Mills is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Mills
  • Rockingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmons Gap, with the one closest to Simmons Gap listed first.
    • Berrytown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Berrytown is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berrytown
    • Swift Run
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Swift Run is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift Run
    • Elkton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • 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 <2>
    • McGaheysville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Massanutten
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Montevideo
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Montevideo is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montevideo
    • Goods Mill
      (10 miles [16.1 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 northwest)
    • Cross Keys
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Massanetta Springs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Massanetta Springs is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massanetta Springs
    • Melrose
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Melrose is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
    • North River
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • North River is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North River
    • Mount Crawford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Shenandoah County
    • New Market
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Staunton City
    • Staunton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Waynesboro City
    • Waynesboro
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Simmons Gap ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Simmons Gap.

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 Simmons Gap - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Sullivan Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Mission Home Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Wyatt Mtn. Mission Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Prize Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Gentry Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Christian Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Sipe Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • High Top Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Baugher Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baugher Family Cemetery
    • The Baugher Family Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Angus Baugher Family Cemetery
  • Baugher Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Asa Baugher Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (418 more) ...
    • Williams Family Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Huckstep Family Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Otterbine Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otterbine Cemetery
      • The Otterbine Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Vernon Family Cemetery

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

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

  • Boonesville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Boonesville is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonesville
  • Swift Run
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Swift Run is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift Run
  • Almond ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Almond is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almond
  • Elkton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • 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 <2>
  • McGaheysville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Amicus
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Amicus is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amicus
  • Lynnwood
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Lynnwood is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood
  • McMullen
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • McMullen is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMullen
  • Montevideo
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Montevideo is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montevideo
  • Doylesville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Doylesville is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doylesville
  • Free Union
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Stanardsville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Furnace
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Furnace is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace
    • Goods Mill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Goods Mill is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goods Mill
    • Port Republic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Simmons Gap ...

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 10 newspapers that have been published in the area around Simmons Gap.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Simmons Gap, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Simmons Gap.

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 websites either 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 Simmons Gap:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 Simmons Gap, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Simmons Gap) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.