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 Vera (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 Vera. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Vera is located in Appomattox 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 Appomattox County: Amherst, Buckingham, Campbell, Charlotte, Nelson & Prince Edward.
Below are the counties that are near Vera. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Vera:
- Appomattox County (The home county of Vera)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vera, with the one closest to Vera listed first.
- Appomattox
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Evergreen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Evergreen is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Hurtsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Hurtsville is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurtsville
- Beckham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Beckham is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckham
- Bent Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bent Creek is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
- Mineral ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mineral is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
- Spout Spring
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Spout Spring is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spout Spring
- Chap
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Chap is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chap
- Pamplin City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Mills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Mills is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Mills
- Albemarle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vera, with the one closest to Vera listed first.
- Warren
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Warren is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
- Porters
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Porters is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porters
- Esmont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Esmont is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esmont
- Scottsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Amherst County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vera, with the one closest to Vera listed first.
- Walkers Ford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Walkers Ford is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkers Ford
- Joshua Falls
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Joshua Falls is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joshua Falls
- New Glasgow
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- New Glasgow is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Glasgow
- Amherst
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Coolwell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Coolwell is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
- Sweet Briar Station
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
- Madison Heights
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Winesap
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Winesap is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Monitor
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Monitor is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- Lowesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sandidges
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sandidges is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
- Pedlar Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vera, with the one closest to Vera listed first.
- Abert
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Abert is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
- Boonsboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
- Forest
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Coleman Falls
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
- Buckingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vera, with the one closest to Vera listed first.
- Forbes ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Forbes is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbes
- Toga
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Toga is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toga
- Andersonville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Alcoma
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Alcoma is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcoma
- Buckingham
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Enonville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Enonville is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enonville
- Mount Vinco
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Vinco is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vinco
- Sheppards
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Sheppards is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheppards
- Curdsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Curdsville is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curdsville
- Dillwyn
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Manteo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Manteo is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteo
- Glenmore
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Glenmore is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vera, with the one closest to Vera listed first.
- Concord
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Athos ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Mount Athos is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Athos
- Mount Zion
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Zion is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Rustburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hat Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hat Creek is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hat Creek
- Gladys
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Yellow Branch
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
- Lawyers
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Lawyers is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
- Powhatan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Powhatan is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
- Brookneal
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Timberlake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Bedford Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Charlotte County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vera, with the one closest to Vera listed first.
- Rough Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Rough Creek is located in Charlotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rough Creek
- Cullen
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Cullen is located in Charlotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullen
- Phenix
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Phenix is located in Charlotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phenix
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Abilene
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Abilene is located in Charlotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abilene
- Abell ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Abell is located in Charlotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abell
- Charlotte Court House
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Aspenwall
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Aspenwall is located in Charlotte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspenwall
- Drakes Branch
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Keysville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vera, with the one closest to Vera listed first.
- Guinea Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Guinea Mills is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guinea Mills
- Cotton Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Cotton Town is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Town
- Trents Mill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Trents Mill is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trents Mill
- Cumberland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Fluvanna County
- Nicholas
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Nicholas is located in Fluvanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholas
- Lunenburg County
- Meherrin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Meherrin is located in Lunenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meherrin
- Lynchburg City
- The following are listed by their distance from Vera, with the one closest to Vera listed first.
- Lynchburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Lavino Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Woodbine Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Nelson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vera, with the one closest to Vera listed first.
- Gladstone
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Buffalo Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Buffalo Springs is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Springs
- Norwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Norwood is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Warminster
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Warminster is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warminster
- Arrington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Shipman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Shipman is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipman
- Colleen
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Colleen is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colleen
- Rockfish
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Rockfish is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockfish
- Schuyler
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Bryant
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Bryant is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Faber
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Jonesboro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jonesboro is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
- Prince Edward County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vera, with the one closest to Vera listed first.
- Five Forks
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Five Forks is located in Prince Edward County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
- Tuggle
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tuggle is located in Prince Edward County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuggle
- Darlington Heights
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Darlington Heights is located in Prince Edward County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington Heights
- Blake Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Blake Village is located in Prince Edward County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake Village
- Hampden - Sydney
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hampden - Sydney is located in Prince Edward County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampden - Sydney
- Farmville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Vera, see our County-by-County Page for Vera.
Cemeteries Near Vera ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vera.
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 Vera - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Vera covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Vera, with the one closest to Vera listed first.
- Patterson - Hix Burial Ground
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Babcock Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Appomattox Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mann Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Chestnut Grove Bapist Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Rebecca Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Baldwin Family Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bethel Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- St. Joy Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Allens Creek Community Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (188 more) ...
- Trinity UMC Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Old Olive Branch UMC Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Olive Branch UMC Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 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>
While we didn't find Vera in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Vera.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Vera, with the one closest to Vera listed first.
- Hollywood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hollywood is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
- Oakville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Oakville is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Evergreen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Evergreen is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Forbes ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Forbes is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbes
- Hixburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hixburg is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hixburg
- Hurtsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Hurtsville is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurtsville
- Bent Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bent Creek is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
- Toga
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Toga is located in Buckingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toga
- Mineral ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mineral is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
- Old Pilot ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Old Pilot is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Pilot
- Gladstone
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Chap
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Chap is located in Appomattox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chap
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Pamplin City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Andersonville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Walkers Ford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Walkers Ford is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkers Ford
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Vera. See our List of 1890's Communities around Vera.
Newspapers Published in Vera ...
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 116 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vera.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Vera, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Vera.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Vera:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Appomattox County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Albemarle County
- Amherst County
- Bedford County
- Buckingham County
- Campbell County
- Charlotte County
- Cumberland County
- Fluvanna County
- Lunenburg County
- Lynchburg City
- Nelson County
- Prince Edward 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Vera) 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 Vera, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |