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 Spec (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 Spec. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.
Spec is located in Botetourt 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 Botetourt County: Alleghany, Bedford, Craig, Roanoke & Rockbridge.
Below are the counties that are near Spec. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Spec:
- Botetourt County (The home county of Spec)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spec, with the one closest to Spec listed first.
- Lithia
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Botetourt ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Blue Ridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Springwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Fincastle
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Troutville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Buchanan
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Laymantown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Laymantown is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laymantown
- Amsterdam
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Amsterdam is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsterdam
- Daleville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Apple Tree Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Apple Tree Village is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Tree Village
- Cloverdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spec, with the one closest to Spec listed first.
- Rich Patch
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rich Patch is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Patch
- Iron Gate
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Iron Gate is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
- Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
- Low Moor
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Selma
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Selma is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Clifton Forge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Griffith
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Griffith is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffith
- Moss Run
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Moss Run is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Run
- Amherst County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spec, with the one closest to Spec listed first.
- Pedlar Mills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Pleasant View
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spec, with the one closest to Spec listed first.
- Villamont
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Villamont is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villamont
- Montvale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Coonsville ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Coonsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
- Peaksville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Chamblissburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Chamblissburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamblissburg
- Goodview
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Joppa Mill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
- Clevilas ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Clevilas is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clevilas
- Lowry
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Cifax
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Davis Mill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Davis Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Mill
- Moneta
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Buena Vista City
- Buena Vista
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spec, with the one closest to Spec listed first.
- Bedford Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Powhatan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Powhatan is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
- Timberlake
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Covington City
- Covington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Craig County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spec, with the one closest to Spec listed first.
- New Castle
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Abbott
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Abbott is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spec, with the one closest to Spec listed first.
- Hales Ford ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Hales Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Ford
- Westlake Corner
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Westlake Corner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake Corner
- Burnt Chimney
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Burnt Chimney is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Chimney
- Boones Mill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- North Shore
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- North Shore is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shore
- Felicia ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Felicia is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felicia
- Villa ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Villa is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa
- Gogginsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Gogginsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gogginsville
- Redwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Redwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Union Hall
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lexington City
- Lexington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lynchburg City
- Woodbine Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Montgomery County
- Elliston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Roanoke City
- The following are listed by their distance from Spec, with the one closest to Spec listed first.
- Buena Vista
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Buena Vista is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Roanoke
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Roanoke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spec, with the one closest to Spec listed first.
- Hollins
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Vinton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Montgomery Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Montgomery Village is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
- Hanging Rock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hanging Rock is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanging Rock
- Mason Cove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Mason Cove is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Cove
- Catawba
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Cave Spring
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cave Spring is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
- Moomaw ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Moomaw is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moomaw
- Wabun
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Wabun is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabun
- Riverside
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Bent Mountain
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rockbridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spec, with the one closest to Spec listed first.
- Springfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Springfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Natural Bridge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Red Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
- Greenlee
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Fancy Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Glasgow
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Buffalo Forge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Zollman ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
- East Lexington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
- Salem City
- The following are listed by their distance from Spec, with the one closest to Spec listed first.
- Sunset Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sunset Village is located in Salem City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Salem
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Spec, see our County-by-County Page for Spec.
Cemeteries Near Spec ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spec.
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 Spec - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Spec covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Spec, with the one closest to Spec listed first.
- Thompson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Simmons Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Booze Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Linkenhoker Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Shafer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Troutville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troutville Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Troutville Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Troutville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1968071 <2>
- St. Clair Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Blue Ridge Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lawhorn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Giles Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Houseman Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Copps Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (449 more) ...
- Godwin Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Godwin Cemetery
- The Godwin Cemetery has also been known as:
- Slicer Cemetery
- Churchill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Laymantown Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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 Spec in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Spec.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Spec, with the one closest to Spec listed first.
- Lithia
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Nace
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Nace is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nace
- Botetourt ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Blue Ridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Montvale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Troutville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Springwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Fincastle
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Amsterdam
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Amsterdam is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsterdam
- Reba
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Reba is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reba
- Buchanan
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Daleville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Cloverdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Coyner Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Coyner Springs is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coyner Springs
- Munford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Munford is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munford
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Spec. See our List of 1890's Communities around Spec.
Newspapers Published in Spec ...
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 24 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spec.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Spec, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Spec.
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 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 Spec:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Botetourt County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alleghany County
- Amherst County
- Bedford City
- Bedford County
- Buena Vista City
- Campbell County
- Covington City
- Craig County
- Franklin County
- Lexington City
- Lynchburg City
- Montgomery County
- Roanoke City
- Roanoke County
- Rockbridge County
- 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 Spec, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Spec) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |