RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maryland >> Allegany County >> La Vale >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Maryland

The Commemorative Quarter for Maryland





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 La Vale (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 La Vale. 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 La Vale ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

Another variation: LaVale.

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 and hospitals 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.

La Vale is located in Allegany County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Allegany County: Garrett, Washington, Bedford (PA), Fulton (PA), Somerset (PA), Hampshire (WV), Mineral (WV) & Morgan (WV).

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

  • Allegany County     (The home county of La Vale)
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Vale, with the one closest to La Vale listed first.
    • Cumberland
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Shanty Town ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shanty Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanty Town
      • Shanty Town is located in Allegany County
    • Corriganville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corriganville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
      • Corriganville is located in Allegany County
    • Barrelville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Ellerslie
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellerslie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
      • Ellerslie is located in Allegany County
    • Mount Savage
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Savage have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Savage
      • Mount Savage is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Savage <1>
    • Brady
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brady. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
      • Brady is located in Allegany County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Brady
      • From La Vale to Brady
    • Cresaptown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Loarville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Clarysville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clarysville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarysville
      • Clarysville is located in Allegany County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clarysville
      • From La Vale to Clarysville
    • Eckhart Mines
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Zihlman
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Garrett County
  • Washington County
    • Pearre
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pearre. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearre
      • Pearre is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pearre
      • From La Vale to Pearre
  • Bedford County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Vale, with the one closest to La Vale listed first.
    • Cooks Mills
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cooks Mills. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
      • Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cooks Mills
      • From La Vale to Cooks Mills
    • Stringtown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Hyndman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hyndman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyndman
      • Hyndman is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 854 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hyndman <1>
    • Beans Cove
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Beans Cove. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Cove
      • Beans Cove is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Beans Cove
      • From La Vale to Beans Cove
    • Rainsburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rainsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainsburg
      • Rainsburg is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
    • Kegg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kegg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
      • Kegg is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kegg
      • From La Vale to Kegg
    • Purcell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Manns Choice
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manns Choice have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manns Choice
      • Manns Choice is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manns Choice <1>
    • Charlesville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Schellsburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Schellsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schellsburg
      • Schellsburg is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 317 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Schellsburg <1>
    • Robinsonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bedford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bedford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford
      • Bedford is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,667 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bedford <1>
  • Somerset County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Vale, with the one closest to La Vale listed first.
    • Wellersburg
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wellersburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellersburg
      • Wellersburg is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wellersburg
      • From La Vale to Wellersburg
    • Wittenberg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Callimont
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Callimont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callimont
      • Callimont is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
    • Fairhope
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Johnsburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsburg
      • Johnsburg is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnsburg <1>
    • Glade City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glade City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade City
      • Glade City is located in Somerset County (PA)
    • Boynton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Meyersdale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Salisbury
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hays Mill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • West Meyersdale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • West Salisbury
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Hampshire County (WV)
  • Mineral County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Vale, with the one closest to La Vale listed first.
    • Ridgeley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Carpendale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carpendale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpendale
      • Carpendale is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 900 people
    • Wiley Ford
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wiley Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiley Ford
      • Wiley Ford is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wiley Ford <1>
    • Short Gap
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Fort Ashby
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Ashby have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Ashby
      • Fort Ashby is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Ashby <1>
    • Keyser
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Piedmont
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Headsville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Headsville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
      • Headsville is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Headsville
      • From La Vale to Headsville
    • Burlington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • New Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Elk Garden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elk Garden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Garden
      • Elk Garden is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elk Garden <1>
    • Sulphur City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sulphur City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur City
      • Sulphur City is located in Mineral County (WV)
  • Morgan County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Vale, with the one closest to La Vale listed first.
    • Paw Paw
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Hansrote
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hansrote. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansrote
      • Hansrote is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hansrote
      • From La Vale to Hansrote
    • Magnolia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Doe Gully
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Doe Gully. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Gully
      • Doe Gully is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Doe Gully
      • From La Vale to Doe Gully
    • Orleans Cross Roads
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Woodmont
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Woodmont. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodmont
      • Woodmont is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Woodmont
      • From La Vale to Woodmont
    • Berryville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near La Vale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of La Vale.

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 La Vale covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from La Vale, with the one closest to La Vale 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 La Vale in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of La Vale.

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

  • Ridgeley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Cumberland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Mount Savage Junction
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Savage Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Savage Junction
    • Mount Savage Junction is located in Allegany County
  • Kreigbaum
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kreigbaum have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kreigbaum
    • Kreigbaum is located in Allegany County
  • Corriganville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corriganville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
    • Corriganville is located in Allegany County
  • Barrelville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Clarysville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clarysville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarysville
    • Clarysville is located in Allegany County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Clarysville
    • From La Vale to Clarysville
  • Cresaptown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Brady
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brady. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
    • Brady is located in Allegany County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Brady
    • From La Vale to Brady
  • Seymour
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seymour have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
    • Seymour is located in Mineral County (WV)
  • Ellerslie
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellerslie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
    • Ellerslie is located in Allegany County
  • Mount Savage
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Savage have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Savage
    • Mount Savage is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Savage <1>
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Morantown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morantown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morantown
      • Morantown is located in Allegany County
    • Eckhart Mines
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Vale Summit
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vale Summit have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale Summit
      • Vale Summit is located in Allegany County

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

Newspapers Published in La Vale ...

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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around La Vale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of La Vale, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for La Vale.

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 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 La Vale:

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

The official website for Allegany County: www.gov.allconet.org/

The official website for State of Maryland: https://www.maryland.gov/

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 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.
<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>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.
<5>The Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MIHP (for the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties). More information about the MHT and MIHP can be found on their website: mht.maryland.gov.
<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 La Vale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>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- La Vale) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in La Vale. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.6548, Longitude: -78.8119    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 29 Mar 2025