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 Spotsylvania (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 Spotsylvania. 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 and 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.
Spotsylvania is located in Spotsylvania County and is the County Seat.
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 Spotsylvania County: Caroline, Culpeper, Hanover, Louisa, Orange & Stafford.
Below are the counties that are near Spotsylvania. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Spotsylvania:
- Spotsylvania County (The home county of Spotsylvania)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spotsylvania, with the one closest to Spotsylvania listed first.
- Spotsylvania Courthouse
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Snell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Massaponax
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Massaponax is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massaponax
- Leavells
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Leavells is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leavells
- Screamerville ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Screamerville is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamerville
- Post Oak
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Post Oak is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Oak
- Todds Tavern
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Todds Tavern is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Todds Tavern
- Thornburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- McHenry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- McHenry is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McHenry
- Waverly Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Waverly Village is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly Village
- Brockroad
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Brockroad is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brockroad
- Arcadia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Arcadia is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Margo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Margo is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Margo
- Caroline County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spotsylvania, with the one closest to Spotsylvania listed first.
- Olney Corner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Olney Corner is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olney Corner
- Moss Neck
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Moss Neck is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Neck
- New London
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- New London is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New London
- Stuart Corner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Stuart Corner is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuart Corner
- Bowling Green
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Samuels Corner
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Samuels Corner is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samuels Corner
- Ruther Glen
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- DeJarnette
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- DeJarnette is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeJarnette
- Penola
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Penola is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penola
- Port Royal
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Burruss Corner
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Burruss Corner is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burruss Corner
- Sparta
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Sparta is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
- Central Point
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Central Point is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Point
- Culpeper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spotsylvania, with the one closest to Spotsylvania listed first.
- Lignum
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lignum is located in Culpeper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lignum
- Kellys Ford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Kellys Ford is located in Culpeper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Ford
- Elkwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Culpeper
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Essex County
- Loretto
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Loretto is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loretto
- Fauquier County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spotsylvania, with the one closest to Spotsylvania listed first.
- Blackwell Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Blackwell Town is located in Fauquier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwell Town
- Remington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Brent Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Brent Town is located in Fauquier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brent Town
- Bealeton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Midland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Fredericksburg City
- Fredericksburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hanover County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spotsylvania, with the one closest to Spotsylvania listed first.
- Tylers
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Tylers is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tylers
- Beaverdam
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Hewlett
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Hewlett is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewlett
- Verdon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Verdon is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdon
- Doswell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Montpelier
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Taylorsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Taylorsville is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorsville
- Goodall
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Goodall is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodall
- King George County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spotsylvania, with the one closest to Spotsylvania listed first.
- Fairview Beach
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Fairview Beach is located in King George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Beach
- Arnolds Corner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Arnolds Corner is located in King George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnolds Corner
- Port Conway
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Port Conway is located in King George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Conway
- King George
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Ambar
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ambar is located in King George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambar
- Edgehill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Edgehill is located in King George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgehill
- Weedonville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Weedonville is located in King George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weedonville
- Somerset Beach
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Somerset Beach is located in King George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset Beach
- Hampstead
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hampstead is located in King George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampstead
- Shiloh
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Shiloh is located in King George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Alden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Alden is located in King George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alden
- Ninde
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Ninde is located in King George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ninde
- Dahlgren
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Louisa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spotsylvania, with the one closest to Spotsylvania listed first.
- Harris ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Harris is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Bumpass
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Bumpass is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bumpass
- Bumpass has also been known as:
- Bumpas
- Bumpass Junction
- Bumpass Station
- Bumpass Turnout
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bumpass <1>
- Mineral
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pendleton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pendleton is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pendleton
- Cuckoo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cuckoo is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuckoo
- Jackson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jackson is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
- Louisa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Gays ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gays is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays
- Vigor
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Vigor is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vigor
- Willowbrook
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Willowbrook is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowbrook
- Trevilians
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Trevilians is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trevilians
- Green Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Green Springs is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Springs
- Meltons
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Meltons is located in Louisa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meltons
- Madison County
- Madison Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Madison Mills is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Mills
- Orange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spotsylvania, with the one closest to Spotsylvania listed first.
- Wilderness
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wilderness is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilderness
- Locust Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Indian Town
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Indian Town is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Town
- Burr Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Burr Hill is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr Hill
- Danton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Danton is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danton
- Vulcan
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Vulcan is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vulcan
- Rhoadesville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- True Blue
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- True Blue is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True Blue
- Grassland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Grassland is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassland
- Orange
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Madison Run
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Madison Run is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Run
- Prince William County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spotsylvania, with the one closest to Spotsylvania listed first.
- Kopp
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Kopp is located in Prince William County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kopp
- Chamberlain Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Chamberlain Village is located in Prince William County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamberlain Village
- Joplin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Joplin is located in Prince William County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joplin
- Quantico
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Triangle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Combat Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Combat Village is located in Prince William County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combat Village
- Dumfries
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Stafford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spotsylvania, with the one closest to Spotsylvania listed first.
- Chatham Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Chatham Village is located in Stafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham Village
- Falmouth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hampstead Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hampstead Village is located in Stafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampstead Village
- Berea
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Berea is located in Stafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berea
- Stafford Lakes Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Grafton Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Grafton Village is located in Stafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grafton Village
- Little Falls Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Little Falls Village is located in Stafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Falls Village
- Falmouth Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Falmouth Village is located in Stafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth Village
- Northridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Northridge is located in Stafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northridge
- Hartwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- North Potomac
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- North Potomac is located in Stafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Potomac
- Storck
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Storck is located in Stafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Storck
- Woodlanding Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Woodlanding Village is located in Stafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlanding Village
- Westmoreland County
- Maple Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Maple Grove is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Charles County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spotsylvania, with the one closest to Spotsylvania listed first.
- Nanjemoy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Doncaster
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Doncaster is located in Charles County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doncaster
- Ironsides
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ironsides is located in Charles County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironsides
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Spotsylvania, see our County-by-County Page for Spotsylvania.
Cemeteries Near Spotsylvania ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spotsylvania.
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 Spotsylvania - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Spotsylvania covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Spotsylvania, with the one closest to Spotsylvania listed first.
- Zion Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Confederate Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Goshen Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Travelers Rest Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Pendleton Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Massaponax Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Piney Branch Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Tabernacle Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Second New Hope Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Sunset Memorial Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Pentecostal Evangelical Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (181 more) ...
- Mine Road Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hebron Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bethany Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
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 Spotsylvania in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Spotsylvania.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Spotsylvania, with the one closest to Spotsylvania listed first.
- Post Oak
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Post Oak is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Oak
- Massaponax
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Massaponax is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massaponax
- Leavells
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Leavells is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leavells
- Screamerville ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Screamerville is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamerville
- Thornburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Pleasant
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Brockroad
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Brockroad is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brockroad
- Marye
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Marye is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marye
- Gatewood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gatewood is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatewood
- Welchs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Welchs is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welchs
- Blantons
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Blantons is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blantons
- Corbin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Corbin is located in Caroline County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corbin
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Falmouth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Parker
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Parker is located in Spotsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parker
- Partlow
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Spotsylvania. See our List of 1890's Communities around Spotsylvania.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Spotsylvania ...
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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spotsylvania.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Spotsylvania. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Spotsylvania and those printed in the larger area surrounding Spotsylvania.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4> of Spotsylvania.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Spotsylvania:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Spotsylvania County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Caroline County
- Culpeper County
- Essex County
- Fauquier County
- Fredericksburg City
- Hanover County
- King George County
- Louisa County
- Madison County
- Orange County
- Prince William County
- Stafford County
- Westmoreland County
- Charles County
- 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 Spotsylvania, 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- Spotsylvania) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |