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 Upper Shirley (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 Upper Shirley. 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 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.
Upper Shirley is located in Chesterfield 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 Chesterfield County: Amelia, Charles City, Dinwiddie, Henrico, Hopewell City, Prince George & Richmond.
Below are the counties that are near Upper Shirley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Upper Shirley:
- Chesterfield County (The home county of Upper Shirley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Upper Shirley, with the one closest to Upper Shirley listed first.
- Bermuda Hundred ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Bermuda Hundred is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bermuda Hundred
- Meadowville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Meadowville is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowville
- Screamersville ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Screamersville is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamersville
- Chester
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bellwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bellwood is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
- Braebrook Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Braebrook Village is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braebrook Village
- Centralia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Centralia is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
- Ampt Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ampt Hill is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ampt Hill
- Bensley Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bensley Village is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bensley Village
- Bensley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bensley is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bensley
- Drewrys Bluff
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Drewrys Bluff is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drewrys Bluff
- Bollinger Estates
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bollinger Estates is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bollinger Estates
- Beulah Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Beulah Village is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah Village
- Amelia County
- Ammon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Ammon is located in Amelia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ammon
- Charles City County
- The following are listed by their distance from Upper Shirley, with the one closest to Upper Shirley listed first.
- Kimages
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Kimages is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimages
- Westover
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Westover is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Charles City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Roxbury
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Roxbury is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
- Ruthville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Ruthville is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthville
- Colonial Heights City
- Colonial Heights
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dinwiddie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Upper Shirley, with the one closest to Upper Shirley listed first.
- Grant Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Grant Village is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Village
- Maitland Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Maitland Village is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maitland Village
- Addison
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Addison is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Sutherland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Rowanta
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Rowanta is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowanta
- Waldemar ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Waldemar is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldemar
- Laird ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Laird is located in Dinwiddie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laird
- Hanover County
- The following are listed by their distance from Upper Shirley, with the one closest to Upper Shirley listed first.
- Westwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Westwood is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Mechanicsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Atlee Station
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Atlee Station is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlee Station
- Hanover
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Gwathmey
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gwathmey is located in Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gwathmey
- Ashland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Henrico County
- The following are listed by their distance from Upper Shirley, with the one closest to Upper Shirley listed first.
- Deep Bottom
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Deep Bottom is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Bottom
- Glendale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Glendale is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Elko
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Elko is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko
- Turner Woods
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Turner Woods is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner Woods
- Varina Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Varina Grove is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varina Grove
- Varina
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Varina is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varina
- Currituck Farms
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Currituck Farms is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Currituck Farms
- Lee Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Lee Park is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Park
- Windsor
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Windsor is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
- Fort Lee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Lee is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lee
- Green Meadows
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Green Meadows is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Meadows
- Sandston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Fair Oaks
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Fair Oaks is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
- Hopewell City
- Hopewell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- James City County
- The following are listed by their distance from Upper Shirley, with the one closest to Upper Shirley listed first.
- Norge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Jamestown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- King and Queen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Upper Shirley, with the one closest to Upper Shirley listed first.
- Mattaponi
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Walkerton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Walkerton is located in King and Queen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkerton
- King and Queen Court House
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- King William County
- The following are listed by their distance from Upper Shirley, with the one closest to Upper Shirley listed first.
- Lanesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Lanesville is located in King William County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanesville
- Manquin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Enfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Enfield is located in King William County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
- Rumford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Rumford is located in King William County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rumford
- Romancoke
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Romancoke is located in King William County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romancoke
- West Point
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- New Kent County
- The following are listed by their distance from Upper Shirley, with the one closest to Upper Shirley listed first.
- New Kent
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Tunstall
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Tunstall is located in New Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunstall
- Plum Point
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Plum Point is located in New Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Point
- Petersburg City
- Petersburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Powhatan County
- Huguenot
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Huguenot is located in Powhatan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huguenot
- Prince George County
- The following are listed by their distance from Upper Shirley, with the one closest to Upper Shirley listed first.
- Garysville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Garysville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garysville
- Newville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Newville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
- Burrowsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Burrowsville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrowsville
- Derby ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Derby is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
- Talpa ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Talpa is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talpa
- Richmond City
- The following are listed by their distance from Upper Shirley, with the one closest to Upper Shirley listed first.
- Montrose Heights
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Montrose Heights is located in Richmond City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose Heights
- Richmond
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Richmond County
- The following are listed by their distance from Upper Shirley, with the one closest to Upper Shirley listed first.
- Cherry Gardens
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cherry Gardens is located in Richmond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Gardens
- Walmsley Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Walmsley Village is located in Richmond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walmsley Village
- Chippenham Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Chippenham Village is located in Richmond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippenham Village
- Surry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Upper Shirley, with the one closest to Upper Shirley listed first.
- Claremont
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Claremont is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
- Spring Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Grove is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
- Carsley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Carsley is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carsley
- Dendron
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Surry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Scotland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Scotland is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
- Beachland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Beachland is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beachland
- Sussex County
- The following are listed by their distance from Upper Shirley, with the one closest to Upper Shirley listed first.
- Waverly
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Stony Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Sussex
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Sussex is located in Sussex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sussex
- Wakefield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Williamsburg City
- Williamsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- York County
- The following are listed by their distance from Upper Shirley, with the one closest to Upper Shirley listed first.
- Barlows Corner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Barlows Corner is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlows Corner
- Oaktree
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Oaktree is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaktree
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Upper Shirley, see our County-by-County Page for Upper Shirley.
Cemeteries Near Upper Shirley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Upper Shirley.
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 Upper Shirley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Upper Shirley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Upper Shirley, with the one closest to Upper Shirley listed first.
- Grace Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Appomattox Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- City Point National Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bermuda Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Walker Family Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bucher and Strachan Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mt. Sinai Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Harrison Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Merchants Hope Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Salem Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Waller Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Glendale Community Bible Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (257 more) ...
- Glendale National Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Willis UMC Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- James Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Upper Shirley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Upper Shirley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Upper Shirley, with the one closest to Upper Shirley listed first.
- Shirley
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Shirley is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
- Bermuda Hundred ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Bermuda Hundred is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bermuda Hundred
- Meadowville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Meadowville is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowville
- Cotman ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Cotman is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotman
- Westover
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Westover is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Glendale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Glendale is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Walthall
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Walthall is located in Chesterfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walthall
- Garysville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Garysville is located in Prince George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garysville
- Elko
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Elko is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko
- Varina Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Varina Grove is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varina Grove
- Roxbury
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Roxbury is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
- Chester
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Fort Lee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Lee is located in Henrico County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lee
- Weyanoke
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Weyanoke is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyanoke
- Ruthville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Ruthville is located in Charles City County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Upper Shirley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Upper Shirley.
Newspapers Published in Upper Shirley ...
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 111 newspapers that have been published in the area around Upper Shirley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Upper Shirley, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Upper Shirley.
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 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 Upper Shirley:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Chesterfield County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Amelia County
- Charles City County
- Colonial Heights City
- Dinwiddie County
- Hanover County
- Henrico County
- Hopewell City
- James City County
- King and Queen County
- King William County
- New Kent County
- Petersburg City
- Powhatan County
- Prince George County
- Richmond City
- Richmond County
- Surry County
- Sussex County
- Williamsburg City
- York 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> | 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- Upper Shirley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Upper Shirley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |