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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 Westwood (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 Westwood. 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 doctors and 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.

Westwood is located in Hanover County.

To see how the shape of Virginia's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Hanover County: Caroline, Goochland, Henrico, King William, Louisa, New Kent & Spotsylvania.

Below are the counties that are near Westwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Westwood:

  • Hanover County     (The home county of Westwood)
  • Caroline County
  • Charles City County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
    • Roxbury
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Roxbury. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
      • Roxbury is located in Charles City County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Roxbury
      • From Westwood to Roxbury
    • Kimages
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kimages. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimages
      • Kimages is located in Charles City County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kimages
      • From Westwood to Kimages
    • Ruthville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Charles City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Westover
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Westover. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
      • Westover is located in Charles City County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Westover
      • From Westwood to Westover
  • Chesterfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
    • Meadowville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bermuda Hundred ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Bellwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bellwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
      • Bellwood is located in Chesterfield County
    • Bensley Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bensley Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bensley Village
      • Bensley Village is located in Chesterfield County
    • Bensley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bensley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bensley
      • Bensley is located in Chesterfield County
    • Drewrys Bluff
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Beulah Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beulah Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah Village
      • Beulah Village is located in Chesterfield County
    • Screamersville ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Chesterfield Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chesterfield Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield Village
      • Chesterfield Village is located in Chesterfield County
    • Centralia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Centralia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
      • Centralia is located in Chesterfield County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Centralia
      • From Westwood to Centralia
    • Bon Air
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Chester
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Colonial Heights City
    • Colonial Heights
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colonial Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Heights
      • Colonial Heights is located in Colonial Heights City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,205 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colonial Heights <2>
  • Dinwiddie County
    • Grant Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grant Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Village
      • Grant Village is located in Dinwiddie County
  • Essex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
    • Minor
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor
      • Minor is located in Essex County
    • Millers Tavern
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Dunbrooke
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dunbrooke. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunbrooke
      • Dunbrooke is located in Essex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dunbrooke
      • From Westwood to Dunbrooke
    • Beazley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Dunnsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bowlers Wharf
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Tappahannock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tappahannock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tappahannock
      • Tappahannock is located in Essex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,400 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tappahannock <2>
    • Lloyds
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lloyds. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloyds
      • Lloyds is located in Essex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lloyds
      • From Westwood to Lloyds
  • Gloucester County
  • Henrico County
  • Hopewell City
  • James City County
  • King and Queen County
  • King William County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
    • Manquin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Rumford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rumford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rumford
      • Rumford is located in King William County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rumford
      • From Westwood to Rumford
    • Lanesville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lanesville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanesville
      • Lanesville is located in King William County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lanesville
      • From Westwood to Lanesville
    • Enfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Enfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
      • Enfield is located in King William County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Enfield
      • From Westwood to Enfield
    • Tuck Fork
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Beulahville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Beulahville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulahville
      • Beulahville is located in King William County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Beulahville
      • From Westwood to Beulahville
    • Romancoke
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • West Point
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
      • West Point is located in King William County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,310 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Point <2>
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
    • Nesting
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nesting. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nesting
      • Nesting is located in Middlesex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Nesting
      • From Westwood to Nesting
    • Remlik
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • New Kent County
  • Petersburg City
  • Powhatan County
    • Huguenot
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Huguenot. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huguenot
      • Huguenot is located in Powhatan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Huguenot
      • From Westwood to Huguenot
  • Prince George County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
    • Garysville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Burrowsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Newville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Newville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
      • Newville is located in Prince George County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Newville
      • From Westwood to Newville
  • Richmond City
  • Richmond County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
    • Cherry Gardens
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Walmsley Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walmsley Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walmsley Village
      • Walmsley Village is located in Richmond County
    • Chippenham Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chippenham Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippenham Village
      • Chippenham Village is located in Richmond County
  • Surry County
    • Claremont
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Claremont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
      • Claremont is located in Surry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
  • York County

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Westwood, see our County-by-County Page for Westwood.

Cemeteries Near Westwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westwood.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Westwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.

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.<6>

While we didn't find Westwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Westwood.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.

  • Tunstall
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tunstall. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunstall
    • Tunstall is located in New Kent County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Tunstall
    • From Westwood to Tunstall
  • Old Church
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Church have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Church
    • Old Church is located in Hanover County
  • Dispatch ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dispatch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dispatch
    • Dispatch is located in New Kent County
  • Quinton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quinton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinton
    • Quinton is located in New Kent County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Quinton <2>
  • Tallysville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tallysville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallysville
    • Tallysville is located in New Kent County
  • Manquin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Fair Oaks
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fair Oaks. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
    • Fair Oaks is located in Henrico County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Fair Oaks
    • From Westwood to Fair Oaks
  • Seven Pines
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Pines
    • Seven Pines is located in Henrico County
  • Studley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Studley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Studley
    • Studley is located in Hanover County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Studley <2>
  • Highland Springs
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Elko
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Roxbury
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Roxbury. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
    • Roxbury is located in Charles City County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Roxbury
    • From Westwood to Roxbury
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Rumford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rumford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rumford
      • Rumford is located in King William County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rumford
      • From Westwood to Rumford
    • Pole Green
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pole Green have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pole Green
      • Pole Green is located in Hanover County
    • Enfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Enfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
      • Enfield is located in King William County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Enfield
      • From Westwood to Enfield

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Westwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Westwood.

Newspapers Published in Westwood ...

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 2 newspapers that have been published in the area around Westwood.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westwood, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Westwood.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Westwood:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Westwood. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Hanover County: www.co.hanover.va.us/

The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Westwood) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Westwood. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.6017, Longitude: -77.1779       In this case, the coordinates for Westwood have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Westwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025