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 Westlu (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 Westlu. 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 hospitals and 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.
Westlu is located in Page 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 Page County: Greene, Madison, Rappahannock, Rockingham, Shenandoah & Warren.
Below are the counties that are near Westlu. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Westlu:
- Page County (The home county of Westlu)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westlu, with the one closest to Westlu listed first.
- Luray
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Leaksville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Leaksville is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaksville
- Kimball
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Kimball is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball
- Marksville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Marksville is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marksville
- Stanley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Rileyville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Shenandoah
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Verbena
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Verbena is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbena
- Albemarle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westlu, with the one closest to Westlu listed first.
- Cedarmere
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Cedarmere is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
- Boonesville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Boonesville is located in Albemarle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonesville
- Culpeper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westlu, with the one closest to Westlu listed first.
- Griffinsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Griffinsburg is located in Culpeper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffinsburg
- Eggbornsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Eggbornsville is located in Culpeper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eggbornsville
- Salem
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Salem is located in Culpeper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Homeland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Homeland is located in Culpeper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homeland
- Norman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Norman is located in Culpeper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
- Waylands Mill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Waylands Mill is located in Culpeper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waylands Mill
- Rixeyville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Rixeyville is located in Culpeper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rixeyville
- Culpeper
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fauquier County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westlu, with the one closest to Westlu listed first.
- Orlean
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Petersburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Petersburg is located in Fauquier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Frederick County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westlu, with the one closest to Westlu listed first.
- Middletown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Tulip
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tulip is located in Frederick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulip
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westlu, with the one closest to Westlu listed first.
- Kinderhook
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Kinderhook is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinderhook
- Stanardsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Amicus
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Amicus is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amicus
- Cedarmere ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Cedarmere is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarmere
- Dawsonville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Dawsonville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawsonville
- Quinque
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Quinque is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinque
- Harrisonburg City
- Harrisonburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westlu, with the one closest to Westlu listed first.
- Peola Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Peola Mills is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peola Mills
- Syria
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ruth
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ruth is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Hood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Wolftown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Tryme
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tryme is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tryme
- Madison
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Aroda
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Aroda is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aroda
- Radiant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Radiant is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radiant
- Burnt Tree
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Burnt Tree is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Tree
- Rappahannock County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westlu, with the one closest to Westlu listed first.
- Sperryville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Rediviva
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Rediviva is located in Rappahannock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rediviva
- Woodville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Woodville is located in Rappahannock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Washington
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Scrabble
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Scrabble is located in Rappahannock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scrabble
- Slate Mills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Slate Mills is located in Rappahannock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Mills
- Chester Gap
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Chester Gap is located in Rappahannock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Gap
- Reager
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Reager is located in Rappahannock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reager
- Amissville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Rockingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westlu, with the one closest to Westlu listed first.
- Plains Mill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Plains Mill is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plains Mill
- Mayland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Mayland is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayland
- Timberville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Lacey Spring
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lacey Spring is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey Spring
- Broadway
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Daphna
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Daphna is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daphna
- Elkton
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Cootes Store
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Cootes Store is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cootes Store
- Melrose
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Melrose is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Cherry Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Cherry Grove is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Grove
- Tunis
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Tunis is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunis
- Turleytown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Turleytown is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turleytown
- Shenandoah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westlu, with the one closest to Westlu listed first.
- Mount Jackson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- New Market
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Edinburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Rinkerton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rinkerton is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rinkerton
- Willow Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Willow Grove is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Grove
- Mount Clifton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Clifton is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Clifton
- Calvary
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Calvary is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary
- Seven Fountains
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Seven Fountains is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Fountains
- Woodstock
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Columbia Furnace
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Columbia Furnace is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia Furnace
- Dilbeck
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Dilbeck is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilbeck
- Basye - Bryce Mountain
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westlu, with the one closest to Westlu listed first.
- Overall
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Overall is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overall
- Bentonville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Limeton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Limeton is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limeton
- Viscose City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Viscose City is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viscose City
- Waterlick
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Waterlick is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterlick
- Front Royal
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Royal Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Royal Village is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Village
- Riverton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Riverton is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
- Applewood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Applewood is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Applewood
- Happy Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Happy Creek is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Creek
- Reliance
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Reliance is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reliance
- Cedarville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cedarville is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Hardy County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westlu, with the one closest to Westlu listed first.
- Mathias
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lost City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wardensville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Baker
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Baker is located in Hardy County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Westlu, see our County-by-County Page for Westlu.
Cemeteries Near Westlu ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westlu.
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 Westlu - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Westlu covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Westlu, with the one closest to Westlu listed first.
- Old County Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Green Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Antioch Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Longs Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Marshall Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Carmel Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Beahm's Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beahm's Chapel Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Beahm's Chapel Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the east of Luray.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #49373 <3>
- St. Luke Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Furnace Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Leaks Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (337 more) ...
- Woods Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Valley Central Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
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 Westlu in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Westlu.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Westlu, with the one closest to Westlu listed first.
- Luray
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Leaksville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Leaksville is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaksville
- Stony Man
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Stony Man is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Man
- Kimball
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Kimball is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball
- Alma
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Alma is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
- Honeyville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Honeyville is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honeyville
- Stanley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Marksville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Marksville is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marksville
- Ida
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ida is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ida
- Rileyville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkinstown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hawkinstown is located in Shenandoah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkinstown
- Mount Jackson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- New Market
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Ingham
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ingham is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingham
- Compton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Compton is located in Page County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Westlu. See our List of 1890's Communities around Westlu.
Newspapers Published in Westlu ...
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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Westlu.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westlu, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Westlu.
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 Westlu:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Page County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Albemarle County
- Culpeper County
- Fauquier County
- Frederick County
- Greene County
- Harrisonburg City
- Madison County
- Rappahannock County
- Rockingham County
- Shenandoah County
- Warren County
- Hardy 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Westlu) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Westlu, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |