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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 Thorncliff (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 Thorncliff. 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.

Thorncliff is located in Goochland 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 Goochland County: Cumberland, Fluvanna, Hanover, Henrico, Louisa & Powhatan.

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

  • Goochland County     (The home county of Thorncliff)
  • Amelia County
  • Buckingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thorncliff, with the one closest to Thorncliff listed first.
    • New Canton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Arvonia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Bridgeport
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bridgeport. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
      • Bridgeport is located in Buckingham County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bridgeport
      • From Thorncliff to Bridgeport
    • Gold Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Gravel Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Caroline County
  • Chesterfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thorncliff, with the one closest to Thorncliff listed first.
    • Midlothian
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Otterdale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Robious
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bon Air
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Chesterfield Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chesterfield Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield Village
      • Chesterfield Village is located in Chesterfield County
    • Winterpock
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Fendley ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fendley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fendley
      • Fendley is located in Chesterfield County
    • Bensley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bensley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bensley
      • Bensley is located in Chesterfield County
    • Drewrys Bluff
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bensley Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bensley Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bensley Village
      • Bensley Village is located in Chesterfield County
    • Beulah Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beulah Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah Village
      • Beulah Village is located in Chesterfield County
    • Chesterfield Court House
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chesterfield Court House have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield Court House
      • Chesterfield Court House is located in Chesterfield County
    • Holly ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holly have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly
      • Holly is located in Chesterfield County
  • Cumberland County
  • Fluvanna County
  • Hanover County
  • Henrico County
  • Louisa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thorncliff, with the one closest to Thorncliff listed first.
    • Shelfar
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shelfar. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelfar
      • Shelfar is located in Louisa County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Shelfar
      • From Thorncliff to Shelfar
    • Willowbrook
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Gays ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gays have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays
      • Gays is located in Louisa County
    • Jackson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jackson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
      • Jackson is located in Louisa County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jackson
      • From Thorncliff to Jackson
    • Cuckoo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Vigor
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vigor have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vigor
      • Vigor is located in Louisa County
    • Bumpass
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Pendleton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pendleton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pendleton
      • Pendleton is located in Louisa County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pendleton
      • From Thorncliff to Pendleton
    • Mineral
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
      • Mineral is located in Louisa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 529 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mineral <1>
    • Bells Crossroads
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Harris ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harris have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
      • Harris is located in Louisa County
    • Louisa
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Louisa have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisa
      • Louisa is located in Louisa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,764 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Louisa <1>
    • Medlock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Medlock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medlock
      • Medlock is located in Louisa County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Medlock
      • From Thorncliff to Medlock
  • Powhatan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thorncliff, with the one closest to Thorncliff listed first.
    • Beaumont
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Michaux
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Michaux. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michaux
      • Michaux is located in Powhatan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Michaux
      • From Thorncliff to Michaux
    • Huguenot
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Huguenot. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huguenot
      • Huguenot is located in Powhatan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Huguenot
      • From Thorncliff to Huguenot
    • Dorset
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dorset. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorset
      • Dorset is located in Powhatan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dorset
      • From Thorncliff to Dorset
    • Belona
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Belona. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belona
      • Belona is located in Powhatan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Belona
      • From Thorncliff to Belona
    • Pilkinton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pilkinton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilkinton
      • Pilkinton is located in Powhatan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pilkinton
      • From Thorncliff to Pilkinton
  • Richmond City
  • Richmond County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thorncliff, with the one closest to Thorncliff listed first.
    • Chippenham Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chippenham Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippenham Village
      • Chippenham Village is located in Richmond County
    • Cherry Gardens
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Walmsley Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walmsley Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walmsley Village
      • Walmsley Village is located in Richmond County
  • Spotsylvania County

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

Cemeteries Near Thorncliff ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thorncliff.

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 Thorncliff covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Thorncliff, with the one closest to Thorncliff 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 in 1895, Thorncliff had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Lee
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lee have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
    • Lee is located in Goochland County
  • Maidens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Fine Creek Mills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fine Creek Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fine Creek Mills
    • Fine Creek Mills is located in Powhatan County
  • Cardwell
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cardwell have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardwell
    • Cardwell is located in Goochland County
  • Michaux
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Michaux. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michaux
    • Michaux is located in Powhatan County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Michaux
    • From Thorncliff to Michaux
  • Oilville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oilville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oilville
    • Oilville is located in Goochland County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oilville <1>
  • Cedar Point
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Point
    • Cedar Point is located in Goochland County
  • Jefferson ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jefferson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
    • Jefferson is located in Powhatan County
  • Irwin
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irwin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
    • Irwin is located in Goochland County
  • Subletts
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Subletts have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Subletts
    • Subletts is located in Powhatan County
  • Boscobel
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boscobel have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boscobel
    • Boscobel is located in Goochland County
  • Perkinsville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perkinsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkinsville
    • Perkinsville is located in Goochland County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Johnsons Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnsons Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsons Springs
      • Johnsons Springs is located in Goochland County
    • Lilburn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lilburn have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilburn
      • Lilburn is located in Powhatan County
    • Flat Rock
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flat Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
      • Flat Rock is located in Powhatan County

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

Newspapers Published in Thorncliff ...

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 6 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thorncliff.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Thorncliff, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Thorncliff.

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 Thorncliff:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Thorncliff. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Goochland County: www.co.goochland.va.us/

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

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>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.
<3>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.
<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- Thorncliff) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Thorncliff. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.6482, Longitude: -77.8416       In this case, the coordinates for Thorncliff have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<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 Thorncliff, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025