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 Vance (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 Vance. 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 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.
Vance 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 Vance. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Vance:
- Pittsylvania County (The home county of Vance)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Mount Cross
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Cross is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cross
- Swansonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Swansonville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swansonville
- Ridgecrest
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Ridgecrest is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgecrest
- Grady
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Grady is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Cascade
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cascade is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
- Worlds
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Worlds is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worlds
- Tightsqueeze
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Tightsqueeze is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tightsqueeze
- Weal
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Weal is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weal
- Chatham
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Chatham is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,413 people
- Kentuck
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Kentuck is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Spring Garden
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Garden is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Transco Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Transco Village is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transco Village
- Museville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Museville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Museville
- Danville City
- Danville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Laprades Mill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Laprades Mill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laprades Mill
- Penhook
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Sydnorsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Sydnorsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydnorsville
- Union Hall
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Henry
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Prilliman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Prilliman is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prilliman
- Redwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Redwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Felicia ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Felicia is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felicia
- North Shore
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- North Shore is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shore
- Barfoot
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Barfoot is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfoot
- Rocky Mount
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ferrum
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Villa ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Villa is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa
- Halifax County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Sutherlin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Sutherlin is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherlin
- Delila
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Delila is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delila
- Elmo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Elmo is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmo
- Sign Rock
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sign Rock is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sign Rock
- Rodden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rodden is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodden
- Jones
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Jones is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
- Leda
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Leda is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leda
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Axton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Leatherwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Leatherwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Sandy Level
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sandy Level is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Level
- Irisburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Irisburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irisburg
- Laurel Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Laurel Park is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
- Chatmoss
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Chatmoss is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatmoss
- Ridgeway
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Villa Heights
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Villa Heights is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Heights
- Collinsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Fieldale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Reed Creek Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Reed Creek Village is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed Creek Village
- Horse Pasture
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Horse Pasture is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Pasture
- Oak Level
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Level is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Madison County
- Beaver Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Beaver Park is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Park
- Martinsville City
- Martinsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Patrick County
- Stella
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Stella is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Caswell County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Whitetown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Whitetown is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitetown
- Pelham
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pelham is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Gatewood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gatewood is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatewood
- Bethel
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Bethel is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Providence
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Providence is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Quick
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Quick is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quick
- Blanch
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Estelle
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Estelle is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
- West Yanceyville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- West Yanceyville is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yanceyville
- Locust Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Locust Hill is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Milton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Yanceyville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ashland
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Ashland is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Rockingham County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Draper ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Draper is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draper
- Meadow Summit
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Meadow Summit is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Summit
- Ruffin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Eden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- 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 <1>
- Spray ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Spray is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spray
- Fairview
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- College Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- College Village is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Village
- Lawsonville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Lawsonville is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
- Matrimony
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Matrimony is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matrimony
- Providence
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Providence is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Wentworth
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wentworth is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wentworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,734 people
- Shiloh
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Shiloh is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Norwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Norwood is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Stokes County (NC)
- Amostown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- 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 Vance, see our County-by-County Page for Vance.
Cemeteries Near Vance ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vance.
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 Vance - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Vance covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Scearce Gammon Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Soyar Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Gregory Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Moss Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Danville Memorial Gardens
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Berry Hill Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Stokesland Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View Cemetery
- The Mountain View Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mt. View Cemetery
- Mt. View Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cunningham Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Highland Burial Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Burial Park
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Highland Burial Park is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Danville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #50621 <2>
- Harris Homestead Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (512 more) ...
- Mayfield MB Church Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Hickory Grove UMC Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Schoolfield Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Vance had a population of 26 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Whitmell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Whitmell is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitmell
- Brosville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Brosville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brosville
- Bachelors Hall
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bachelors Hall is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bachelors Hall
- Mount Cross
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Cross is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cross
- Buford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Buford is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buford
- Vandola
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Vandola is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandola
- Pleasant Gap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Gap is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Gap
- Sandy River
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sandy River is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy River
- Swansonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Swansonville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swansonville
- Oak Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Oak Hill is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Banister
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Banister is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banister
- Axton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Aiken Summit
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Aiken Summit is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aiken Summit
- Cascade
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cascade is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
- Grady
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Grady is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Vance. See our List of 1890's Communities around Vance.
Newspapers Published in Vance ...
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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vance.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Vance, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Vance.
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 websites either 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 Vance:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Pittsylvania County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- 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> | 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Vance) 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 Vance, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |