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 Vesta (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 Vesta. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Vesta is located in Patrick 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 Patrick County: Stokes (NC), Surry (NC), Carroll, Floyd, Franklin & Henry.
Below are the counties that are near Vesta. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Vesta:
- Patrick County (The home county of Vesta)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Meadows of Dan
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Woolwine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stuart
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Peters Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Peters Creek is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters Creek
- Elamsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Elamsville is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elamsville
- Charity
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Charity is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charity
- Patrick Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Carters Mill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Carters Mill is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Mill
- Ararat
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Critz
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Nettleridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Nettleridge is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettleridge
- Dodson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dodson is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodson
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Pike City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Pike City is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike City
- Nester
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Nester is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nester
- Gladesboro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Gladesboro is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesboro
- Dugspur
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fancy Gap
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Cana
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Star
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Star is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Hillsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Sylvatus
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
- Drenn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Drenn is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
- Lambsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Woodlawn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Floyd County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Haycock
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Haycock is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haycock
- Floyd
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Poff
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Poff is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poff
- Duncan
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Duncan is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Pizarro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pizarro is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pizarro
- Indian Valley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sowers
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Sowers is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sowers
- Simpsons
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Simpsons is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpsons
- Terrys Fork
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Terrys Fork is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrys Fork
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Henry
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Prilliman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Prilliman is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prilliman
- Ferrum
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Algoma
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Algoma is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algoma
- Barfoot
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Barfoot is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfoot
- Hickman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hickman is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
- Sydnorsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sydnorsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydnorsville
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Bassett
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Preston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Preston is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Stanleytown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Fieldale
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Horse Pasture
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Horse Pasture is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Pasture
- Collinsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Oak Level
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Oak Level is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Reed Creek Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Reed Creek Village is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed Creek Village
- Villa Heights
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Villa Heights is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Heights
- Ridgeway
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Chatmoss
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Chatmoss is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatmoss
- Laurel Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Laurel Park is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
- Martinsville City
- Martinsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Pilot
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Childress
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Childress is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childress
- Riner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Rogers
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Rogers is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Oak Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Oak Grove is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Alleghany Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Alleghany Springs is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alleghany Springs
- Christiansburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Old Farm Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Old Farm Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Farm Village
- Raintree Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Raintree Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raintree Village
- Houchins
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Houchins is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houchins
- Montgomery
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Montgomery is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Snowville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Snowville is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowville
- Mack Creek Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mack Creek Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack Creek Village
- Draper
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Newbern
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Radford City
- The following are listed by their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Simpkins Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Simpkins Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpkins Village
- Mill Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Mill Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
- New Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- New Town is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Radford Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Radford Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford Village
- Sunset Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sunset Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Forsyth County (NC)
- King
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- King is located in Forsyth County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,912 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for King <1>
- Rockingham County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Mayodan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Matrimony
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Matrimony is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matrimony
- Stoneville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Stokes County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Aarons Corner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Aarons Corner is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aarons Corner
- Campbell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Campbell is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- Lawsonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lawsonville is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
- Snow Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Snow Hill is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Oak Ridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Ridge is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge
- Vade Mecum
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Vade Mecum is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vade Mecum
- Sandy Ridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Amostown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Amostown is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amostown
- Danbury
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Flat Rock
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Flat Rock is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
- Capella
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Capella is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capella
- Upper Sawra Town ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Upper Sawra Town is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Sawra Town
- Surry County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Mount Herman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Herman is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Herman
- Albion
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Albion is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Westfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Flat Rock
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Flat Rock is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
- Sheltontown
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Sheltontown is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheltontown
- Holly Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Holly Springs is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Mount Airy
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Toast
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Toast is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toast
- Pilot Mountain
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Ararat
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Flat Shoals ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Flat Shoals is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Shoals
- Red Brush
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Red Brush is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Brush
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Vesta, see our County-by-County Page for Vesta.
Cemeteries Near Vesta ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vesta.
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 Vesta - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Vesta covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- New Dan River Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Bouldin Memorial Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Conners View Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Meadows of Dan Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mayo Mtn. Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Rye Cove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye Cove Cemetery
- The Rye Cove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Fain Family Cemetery
- Handy Family Cemetery
- Handy - Rye Cemetery
- Light Family Cemetery
- Mayberry Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Terry - Barnard Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Shelor Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Barnard Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Banks Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (755 more) ...
- Marshall - Bowman Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- New Bell Spur Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- James Bowman Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Vesta had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Vesta, with the one closest to Vesta listed first.
- Meadows of Dan
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dobyns
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Dobyns is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobyns
- Buffalo Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Buffalo Ridge is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Ridge
- Woolwine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stuart
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Peters Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Peters Creek is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters Creek
- Laurel Fork
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Elamsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Elamsville is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elamsville
- Carters Mill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Carters Mill is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Mill
- Patrick Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Charity
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Charity is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charity
- Haycock
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Haycock is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haycock
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Nester
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Nester is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nester
- Palmetto
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Palmetto is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmetto
- Critz
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Vesta. See our List of 1890's Communities around Vesta.
Newspapers Published in Vesta ...
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 39 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vesta.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Vesta, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Vesta.
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 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 Vesta:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Patrick County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carroll County
- Floyd County
- Franklin County
- Henry County
- Martinsville City
- Montgomery County
- Pulaski County
- Radford City
- Forsyth County
- Rockingham County
- Stokes County
- Surry 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> | 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 Vesta, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Vesta) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |