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 Southdowns (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 Southdowns. 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 southeast 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 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.
Southdowns is located in Roanoke 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 Roanoke County: Bedford, Botetourt, Craig, Floyd, Franklin & Montgomery.
Below are the counties that are near Southdowns. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Southdowns:
- Roanoke County (The home county of Southdowns)
- The following are listed by their distance from Southdowns, with the one closest to Southdowns listed first.
- Cave Spring
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cave Spring is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
- Hanging Rock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hanging Rock is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanging Rock
- Wabun
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Wabun is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabun
- Vinton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mason Cove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Mason Cove is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Cove
- Hollins
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Riverside
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Riverside is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Montgomery Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Montgomery Village is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
- Catawba
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bent Mountain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Moomaw ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Moomaw is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moomaw
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Southdowns, with the one closest to Southdowns listed first.
- Goodview
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Villamont
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Villamont is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villamont
- Chamblissburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Chamblissburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamblissburg
- Montvale
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Clevilas ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Clevilas is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clevilas
- Coonsville ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Coonsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
- Moneta
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Joppa Mill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
- Radford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Radford is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford
- Davis Mill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Davis Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Mill
- Peaksville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Botetourt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Southdowns, with the one closest to Southdowns listed first.
- Runaway Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Runaway Village is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runaway Village
- Apple Tree Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Apple Tree Village is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Tree Village
- Cloverdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Daleville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Laymantown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Laymantown is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laymantown
- Amsterdam
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Amsterdam is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsterdam
- Haymakertown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Haymakertown is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haymakertown
- Troutville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Blue Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fincastle
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Botetourt ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Lithia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Oriskany
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Craig County
- The following are listed by their distance from Southdowns, with the one closest to Southdowns listed first.
- Abbott
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Abbott is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- New Castle
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Simmonsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Simmonsville is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmonsville
- Huffman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Huffman is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Captain
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Captain is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Captain
- Floyd County
- The following are listed by their distance from Southdowns, with the one closest to Southdowns listed first.
- Simpsons
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Simpsons is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpsons
- Terrys Fork
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Terrys Fork is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrys Fork
- Pizarro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Pizarro is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pizarro
- Sowers
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sowers is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sowers
- Poff
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Poff is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poff
- Floyd
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Haycock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Haycock is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haycock
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Southdowns, with the one closest to Southdowns listed first.
- Boones Mill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Algoma
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Algoma is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algoma
- Gogginsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Gogginsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gogginsville
- Hickman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Hickman is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
- Burnt Chimney
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Burnt Chimney is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Chimney
- Villa ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Villa is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa
- Rocky Mount
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Barfoot
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Barfoot is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfoot
- Felicia ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Felicia is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felicia
- Hales Ford ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hales Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Ford
- Redwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Redwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Westlake Corner
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Westlake Corner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake Corner
- Ferrum
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Giles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Southdowns, with the one closest to Southdowns listed first.
- Newport
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Newport is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Mountain Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Mountain Lake is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake
- Kire
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kire is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kire
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Southdowns, with the one closest to Southdowns listed first.
- Elliston
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Shawsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Alleghany Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Alleghany Springs is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alleghany Springs
- Bennetts Mill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Bennetts Mill is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennetts Mill
- Montgomery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Montgomery is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Ellett
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Ellett is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellett
- Houchins
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Houchins is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houchins
- Mount Tabor Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Mount Tabor Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tabor Village
- Old Farm Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Old Farm Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Farm Village
- Raintree Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Raintree Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raintree Village
- Blacksburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- McBryde Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- McBryde Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBryde Village
- Merrimac
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Merrimac is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
- Patrick County
- Dodson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Dodson is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodson
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Southdowns, with the one closest to Southdowns listed first.
- Cowan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Cowan is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
- Fairlawn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Fairlawn is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn
- Radford City
- The following are listed by their distance from Southdowns, with the one closest to Southdowns listed first.
- Mill Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Mill Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
- Radford Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Radford Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford Village
- Radford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Simpkins Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Simpkins Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpkins Village
- Roanoke City
- The following are listed by their distance from Southdowns, with the one closest to Southdowns listed first.
- Roanoke
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Buena Vista
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Buena Vista is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Garden City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Garden City is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Salem City
- The following are listed by their distance from Southdowns, with the one closest to Southdowns listed first.
- Sunset Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Sunset Village is located in Salem City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Salem
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Southdowns, see our County-by-County Page for Southdowns.
Cemeteries Near Southdowns ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Southdowns.
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 Southdowns - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Southdowns covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Southdowns, with the one closest to Southdowns listed first.
- East Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Muse Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Bellvue Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Sherwood Burial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood Burial Park
- The Sherwood Burial Park has also been known as:
- Sherwood Cemetery
- Sherwood Memorial Park
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #728583 <2>
- St. Andrews Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- West Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Church Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ferguson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Woods Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Henry Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Hackett Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- James E Day Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (747 more) ...
- Evergreen Burial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Memorial Bridge Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Fairview Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Fairview Cemetery is located in Roanoke.
- The Fairview Cemetery has also been known as:
- Fairview 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.<3>
While we didn't find Southdowns in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Southdowns.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Southdowns, with the one closest to Southdowns listed first.
- Cave Spring
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cave Spring is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
- Poages Mill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Poages Mill is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poages Mill
- Roanoke
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Airpoint
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Airpoint is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airpoint
- Naff
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Naff is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naff
- Vinton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Hollins
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Leslie
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Leslie is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leslie
- Bent Mountain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Catawba
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lafayette
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Lafayette is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lafayette
- Boones Mill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Bonsack
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bonsack is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonsack
- Cloverdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Moomaw ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Moomaw is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moomaw
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Southdowns. See our List of 1890's Communities around Southdowns.
Newspapers Published in Southdowns ...
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 20 newspapers that have been published in the area around Southdowns.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Southdowns, there are papers which were published within 2 miles [3.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Southdowns.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Southdowns:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Roanoke County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford City
- Bedford County
- Botetourt County
- Craig County
- Floyd County
- Franklin County
- Giles County
- Montgomery County
- Patrick County
- Pulaski County
- Radford City
- Roanoke City
- Salem City
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Virginia
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Southdowns, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Southdowns) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |