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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 South Boston (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 South Boston. 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 South Boston ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for South Boston: S. Boston

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 north 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.

South Boston is located in Halifax County.

To see how the shape of Virginia's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Halifax County: Caswell (NC), Granville (NC), Person (NC), Campbell, Charlotte, Mecklenburg & Pittsylvania.

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

  • Halifax County     (The home county of South Boston)
  • Campbell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Boston, with the one closest to South Boston listed first.
    • Brookneal
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Melrose
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Melrose. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
      • Melrose is located in Campbell County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Melrose
      • From South Boston to Melrose
    • Hat Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hat Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hat Creek
      • Hat Creek is located in Campbell County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hat Creek
      • From South Boston to Hat Creek
  • Charlotte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Boston, with the one closest to South Boston listed first.
    • Wylliesburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Aspenwall
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Abell ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Abell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abell
      • Abell is located in Charlotte County
    • Drakes Branch
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Phenix
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phenix have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phenix
      • Phenix is located in Charlotte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
    • Charlotte Court House
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Rough Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Danville City
  • Fluvanna County
    • Scottsburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scottsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottsburg
      • Scottsburg is located in Fluvanna County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scottsburg <2>
  • Madison County
  • Mecklenburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Boston, with the one closest to South Boston listed first.
    • Nelson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Averett
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Averett. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averett
      • Averett is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Averett
      • From South Boston to Averett
    • Orgainville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Henrico
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Clarksville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarksville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
      • Clarksville is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,169 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarksville <2>
    • Shiny Rock
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Jeffress
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Mill Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
      • Mill Village is located in Mecklenburg County
    • Skipwith
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Skipwith. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skipwith
      • Skipwith is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Skipwith
      • From South Boston to Skipwith
    • Finchley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Finchley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finchley
      • Finchley is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Finchley
      • From South Boston to Finchley
    • Chase City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Finneywood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Pittsylvania County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Boston, with the one closest to South Boston listed first.
    • Henrys Mill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Laurel Grove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Lucks
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Riceville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Riceville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riceville
      • Riceville is located in Pittsylvania County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Riceville
      • From South Boston to Riceville
    • Java
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Markham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Kentuck
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kentuck. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
      • Kentuck is located in Pittsylvania County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kentuck
      • From South Boston to Kentuck
    • Spring Garden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Renan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Chalk Level
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Transco Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Transco Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transco Village
      • Transco Village is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Sheva
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sheva. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheva
      • Sheva is located in Pittsylvania County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sheva
      • From South Boston to Sheva
  • Caswell County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Boston, with the one closest to South Boston listed first.
    • Semora
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Semora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Semora
      • Semora is located in Caswell County (NC)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Semora <2>
    • Milton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
      • Milton is located in Caswell County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milton <2>
    • Estelle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Estelle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
      • Estelle is located in Caswell County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Estelle
      • From South Boston to Estelle
    • Blanch
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blanch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanch
      • Blanch is located in Caswell County (NC)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blanch <2>
    • Leasburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leasburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leasburg
      • Leasburg is located in Caswell County (NC)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leasburg <2>
    • Gatewood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Providence
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Providence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
      • Providence is located in Caswell County (NC)
  • Granville County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Boston, with the one closest to South Boston listed first.
    • Wilbourns
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bullock
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bullock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullock
      • Bullock is located in Granville County (NC)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bullock <2>
    • Stovall
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stovall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stovall
      • Stovall is located in Granville County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 420 people
    • Berea
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berea. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berea
      • Berea is located in Granville County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Berea
      • From South Boston to Berea
    • Townsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Person County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Boston, with the one closest to South Boston listed first.
    • Ceffo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ceffo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceffo
      • Ceffo is located in Person County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ceffo
      • From South Boston to Ceffo
    • Concord
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Concord have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
      • Concord is located in Person County (NC)
    • Allensville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Hicks Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hicks Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks Village
      • Hicks Village is located in Person County (NC)
    • Roxboro
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Whitt Town
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitt Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitt Town
      • Whitt Town is located in Person County (NC)
    • Roseville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Allens Level
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Cates
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cates. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cates
      • Cates is located in Person County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cates
      • From South Boston to Cates
    • Timberlake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Mount Tirzah
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Hurdle Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hurdle Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurdle Mills
      • Hurdle Mills is located in Person County (NC)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hurdle Mills <2>

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

Cemeteries Near South Boston ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of South Boston.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that South Boston had a population of 1,789 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, South Boston had a population of 7,519 people.

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

  • Wolf Trap
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf Trap have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Trap
    • Wolf Trap is located in Halifax County
  • Omega
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Hyco
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hyco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyco
    • Hyco is located in Halifax County
  • Mountain Road
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Road have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Road
    • Mountain Road is located in Halifax County
  • Scottsburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scottsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottsburg
    • Scottsburg is located in Fluvanna County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scottsburg <2>
  • Mayo
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mayo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayo
    • Mayo is located in Halifax County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Mayo
    • From South Boston to Mayo
  • Clays Mill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Turbeville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turbeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turbeville
    • Turbeville is located in Halifax County
  • Midway
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Midway. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
    • Midway is located in Halifax County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Midway
    • From South Boston to Midway
  • Alton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Harmony
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Harmony. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
    • Harmony is located in Halifax County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Harmony
    • From South Boston to Harmony
  • Crystal Hill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Dryburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dryburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dryburg
      • Dryburg is located in Halifax County
    • Paces
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paces have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paces
      • Paces is located in Halifax County
    • Red Bank
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Bank have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
      • Red Bank is located in Halifax County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of South Boston ...

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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around South Boston.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of South Boston. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of South Boston and those printed in the larger area surrounding South Boston.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<5> of South Boston.

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 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 South Boston:

The official website for South Boston: www.southboston.com/

The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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.
<5>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 from Point A (ie- South Boston) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in South Boston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.7006, Longitude: -78.9040    
<6>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 South Boston, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025