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 Swansons Mill (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 Swansons Mill. 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 Swansons Mill ...
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 occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Swansons Mill: Swansons Ml. (or less commonly used: Swansons Mll.)
- While the name of this community is Swansons Mill, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Swansons Mill may originally have been Swanson's Mill.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Swansons Mill might be written as Swanson Mill.
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Swansons Mill is located in Pittsylvania 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 Pittsylvania County: Caswell (NC), Rockingham (NC), Bedford, Campbell, Franklin, Halifax & Henry.
Below are the counties that are near Swansons Mill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Swansons Mill:
- Pittsylvania County (The home county of Swansons Mill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Swansons Mill, with the one closest to Swansons Mill listed first.
- Grady
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Grady is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Swansonville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Swansonville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swansonville
- Worlds
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Worlds is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worlds
- Museville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Museville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Museville
- Weal
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Weal is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weal
- Mount Cross
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Cross is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cross
- Chatham
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Chatham is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,413 people
- Tightsqueeze
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Tightsqueeze is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tightsqueeze
- Whittles
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Whittles is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittles
- Whittles has also been known as:
- Whittle's Depot
- Whittle's Station
- Cascade
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Cascade is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
- Ridgecrest
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ridgecrest is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgecrest
- Pittsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pittsville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsville
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Swansons Mill, with the one closest to Swansons Mill listed first.
- Radford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Radford is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford
- Huddleston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Moneta
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Clevilas ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Clevilas is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clevilas
- Davis Mill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Davis Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Mill
- Goodview
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Swansons Mill, with the one closest to Swansons Mill listed first.
- Leesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Leesville is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Altavista
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Danville City
- Danville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Swansons Mill, with the one closest to Swansons Mill listed first.
- Laprades Mill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Laprades Mill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laprades Mill
- Penhook
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Sydnorsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sydnorsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydnorsville
- Union Hall
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Redwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Redwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Felicia ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Felicia is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felicia
- Rocky Mount
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Henry
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- North Shore
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- North Shore is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shore
- Barfoot
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Barfoot is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfoot
- Villa ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Villa is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa
- Prilliman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Prilliman is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prilliman
- Halifax County
- The following are listed by their distance from Swansons Mill, with the one closest to Swansons Mill listed first.
- Sutherlin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sutherlin is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherlin
- Sign Rock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Sign Rock is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sign Rock
- Elmo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Elmo is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmo
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Swansons Mill, with the one closest to Swansons Mill listed first.
- Leatherwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Leatherwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Axton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Laurel Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel Park is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
- Chatmoss
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Chatmoss is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatmoss
- Irisburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Irisburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irisburg
- Sandy Level
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Sandy Level is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Level
- Villa Heights
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Villa Heights is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Heights
- Collinsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Oak Level
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Oak Level is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Reed Creek Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Reed Creek Village is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed Creek Village
- Fieldale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Stanleytown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Madison County
- Beaver Park
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Beaver Park is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Park
- Martinsville City
- Martinsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Patrick County
- The following are listed by their distance from Swansons Mill, with the one closest to Swansons Mill listed first.
- Dodson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Dodson is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodson
- Stella
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Stella is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Critz
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Nettleridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Nettleridge is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettleridge
- Elamsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Elamsville is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elamsville
- Caswell County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Swansons Mill, with the one closest to Swansons Mill listed first.
- Whitetown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Whitetown is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitetown
- Pelham
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pelham is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Gatewood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Gatewood is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatewood
- Bethel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Providence
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Providence is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Quick
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Quick is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quick
- Blanch
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Estelle
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Estelle is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
- Milton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- West Yanceyville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- West Yanceyville is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yanceyville
- Rockingham County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Swansons Mill, with the one closest to Swansons Mill listed first.
- Draper ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Draper is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draper
- Meadow Summit
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Meadow Summit is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Summit
- Spray ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Spray is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spray
- Fairview
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Eden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Eden is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,867 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eden <2>
- Matrimony
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Matrimony is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matrimony
- College Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- College Village is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Village
- Ruffin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Providence
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Providence is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Shiloh
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Shiloh is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Stoneville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lawsonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lawsonville is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
- Stokes County (NC)
- Amostown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Amostown is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amostown
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Swansons Mill, see our County-by-County Page for Swansons Mill.
Cemeteries Near Swansons Mill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Swansons Mill.
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 Swansons Mill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Swansons Mill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Swansons Mill, with the one closest to Swansons Mill listed first.
- Gregory Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lawrence Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Walker - Rigney Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Davis - Martin Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bennett Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Rogers Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Lovell - Yeatts Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Oakes Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Boones Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Gregory Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Walker Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Wingfield Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (694 more) ...
- Martin - Davis Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jamison Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Wyatt Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
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 Swansons Mill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Swansons Mill.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Swansons Mill, with the one closest to Swansons Mill listed first.
- Grady
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Grady is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Swansonville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Swansonville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swansonville
- Callands
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Callands is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callands
- Sandy River
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sandy River is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy River
- Worlds
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Worlds is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worlds
- Leatherwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Leatherwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Banister
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Banister is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banister
- Museville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Museville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Museville
- Axton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Vance
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Vance is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
- Whitmell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Whitmell is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitmell
- Stockton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Stockton is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Weal
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Weal is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weal
- Figsboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Figsboro is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Figsboro
- Brosville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Brosville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brosville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Swansons Mill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Swansons Mill.
Newspapers Published in Swansons Mill ...
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 Swansons Mill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Swansons Mill, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Swansons Mill.
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 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 Swansons Mill:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Pittsylvania County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford County
- Campbell County
- Danville City
- Franklin County
- Halifax County
- Henry County
- Madison County
- Martinsville City
- Patrick County
- Caswell County
- Rockingham County
- Stokes County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Virginia
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> | 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 Swansons Mill, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Swansons Mill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |