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 Wilson Springs (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 Wilson Springs. 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.
Name Variations for Wilson Springs ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Wilson Springs: Wilson Spgs. (or less commonly used: Wilson Spngs. or Wilson Sprngs.)
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 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.
Wilson Springs is located in Rockbridge 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 Rockbridge County: Alleghany, Amherst, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt & Nelson.
Below are the counties that are near Wilson Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wilson Springs:
- Rockbridge County (The home county of Wilson Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson Springs, with the one closest to Wilson Springs listed first.
- Goshen
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Kerrs Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Kerrs Creek is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerrs Creek
- Brownsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Fairfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Fairfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
- East Lexington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
- Davis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Davis is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
- Marlbrook
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Marlbrook is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlbrook
- Riverside
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Zollman ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
- Buffalo Forge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Fancy Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson Springs, with the one closest to Wilson Springs listed first.
- Griffith
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Griffith is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffith
- Iron Gate
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Iron Gate is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
- Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
- Clifton Forge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Selma
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Selma is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Low Moor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Rich Patch
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rich Patch is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Patch
- Amherst County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson Springs, with the one closest to Wilson Springs listed first.
- Alto
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Alto is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Forks of Buffalo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
- Allwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Allwood is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
- Sandidges
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Sandidges is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
- Lowesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant View
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Pedlar Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Monitor
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Monitor is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- Augusta County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson Springs, with the one closest to Wilson Springs listed first.
- Newport
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Newport is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Craigsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Spottswood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Spottswood is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spottswood
- Steeles Tavern
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Pond Gap ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Pond Gap is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Gap
- Marble Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Marble Valley is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble Valley
- Middlebrook
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Greenville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Chapin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Chapin is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin
- Deerfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Deerfield is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
- Arbor Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Arbor Hill is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbor Hill
- Jolivue
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Jolivue is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jolivue
- Bath County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson Springs, with the one closest to Wilson Springs listed first.
- Millboro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Yost
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Yost is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yost
- Bath Alum
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bath Alum is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath Alum
- Fort Lewis ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Lewis is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lewis
- Burnsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Burnsville is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnsville
- Warm Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mitchelltown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Mitchelltown is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchelltown
- Healing Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Healing Springs is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Healing Springs
- Bolar
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bolar is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolar
- Carloover
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Carloover is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carloover
- Cowardin ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Cowardin is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowardin
- Mountain Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain Grove is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Grove
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson Springs, with the one closest to Wilson Springs listed first.
- Waugh
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Waugh is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Coleman Falls
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
- Botetourt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson Springs, with the one closest to Wilson Springs listed first.
- Glen Wilton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Glen Wilton is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Wilton
- Rocky Point
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
- Gala
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Gala is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gala
- Haden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Haden is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
- Salt Petre Cave
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Salt Petre Cave is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Petre Cave
- Salt Petre Cave has also been known as:
- Salt Peter Cave
- Saltpetre
- Salisbury
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Strom
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Strom is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strom
- Buchanan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Springwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Buena Vista City
- Buena Vista
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Highland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson Springs, with the one closest to Wilson Springs listed first.
- Clover Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Clover Creek is located in Highland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Creek
- McDowell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Buckeye ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Buckeye is located in Highland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
- Lexington City
- Lexington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Nelson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson Springs, with the one closest to Wilson Springs listed first.
- Tyro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Massies Mill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Massies Mill is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massies Mill
- Jonesboro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Jonesboro is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
- Bryant
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Bryant is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Nellysford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Staunton City
- Staunton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wilson Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Wilson Springs.
Cemeteries Near Wilson Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wilson Springs.
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 Wilson Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wilson Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wilson Springs, with the one closest to Wilson Springs listed first.
- Chestnut Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Little River Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Bethany Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Kerrs Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Monmouth Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Timber Ridge Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Immanuel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hartbarger Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- McDowell Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- New Providence Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- The Pines Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (143 more) ...
- Old Monmouth Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Spring Valley Baptist Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Fairfield Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
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 Wilson Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wilson Springs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wilson Springs, with the one closest to Wilson Springs listed first.
- Timber Ridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Timber Ridge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Ridge
- Goshen
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Decatur
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Decatur is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
- Brownsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Zack
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Zack is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zack
- Denmark
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Denmark is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Bells Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Bells Valley is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells Valley
- East Lexington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
- Fairfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Fairfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
- California
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- California is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California
- Davis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Davis is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
- Millboro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- South River
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- South River is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South River
- Riverside
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Cornwall
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cornwall is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wilson Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wilson Springs.
Newspapers Published in Wilson Springs ...
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 57 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wilson Springs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wilson Springs, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wilson Springs.
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 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 Wilson Springs:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Rockbridge County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alleghany County
- Amherst County
- Augusta County
- Bath County
- Bedford County
- Botetourt County
- Buena Vista City
- Highland County
- Lexington City
- Nelson County
- Staunton City
- 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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Wilson Springs) 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 Wilson Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |