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 Chester (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 Chester. 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 Chester ...
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.
In past government published Postal Guides, Chester was referred to as Chester Courthouse.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Chester. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Chester.
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.
For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Chester is located in Meigs County.
To see how the shape of Ohio's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Meigs County: Athens, Gallia, Vinton, Jackson (WV), Mason (WV) & Wood (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Chester. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Chester:
- Meigs County (The home county of Chester)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chester, with the one closest to Chester listed first.
- Keno
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Keno is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keno
- Bashan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bashan is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bashan
- Welshtown
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Welshtown is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welshtown
- Tuppers Plains
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Syracuse
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Spiller
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Spiller is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spiller
- Pomeroy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dorcas
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Dorcas is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorcas
- Racine
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Thomas Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Thomas Village is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Village
- Middleport
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lima
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Lima is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lima
- Athens County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chester, with the one closest to Chester listed first.
- Vanderhoof
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Vanderhoof is located in Athens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanderhoof
- Pratts Fork
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pratts Fork is located in Athens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratts Fork
- Coolville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Shade
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Youba
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Youba is located in Athens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youba
- Carsey Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Carsey Town is located in Athens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carsey Town
- Guysville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Guysville is located in Athens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guysville
- Beebe
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Beebe is located in Athens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beebe
- Stewart
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Stewart is located in Athens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart
- Albany
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Big Run
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Big Run is located in Athens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Athens
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Gallia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chester, with the one closest to Chester listed first.
- Carlton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Carlton is located in Gallia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlton
- Cheshire
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cheshire is located in Gallia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheshire
- Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
- Kyger
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Kyger is located in Gallia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyger
- Kerr
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Kerr is located in Gallia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerr
- Mills Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Mills Village is located in Gallia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mills Village
- Westbrook Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Westbrook Village is located in Gallia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village
- Ewington
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Ewington is located in Gallia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewington
- Vinton
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Gallipolis
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Alice
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Alice is located in Gallia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
- Rodney
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rodney is located in Gallia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodney
- Edna ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Edna is located in Gallia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna
- Hocking County
- Orbiston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Orbiston is located in Hocking County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orbiston
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chester, with the one closest to Chester listed first.
- Joy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Joy is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joy
- Wrightstown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Wrightstown is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightstown
- Chesterhill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Elliott Crossroads
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Elliott Crossroads is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott Crossroads
- Todds
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Todds is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Todds
- Vinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chester, with the one closest to Chester listed first.
- Vales Mills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Vales Mills is located in Vinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vales Mills
- Wilkesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Wilkesville is located in Vinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
- Arbaugh
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Arbaugh is located in Vinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbaugh
- Moonville ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Moonville is located in Vinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moonville
- Oreton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Oreton is located in Vinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreton
- Hope ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hope is located in Vinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
- Ural ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ural is located in Vinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ural
- Zaleski
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dundas
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Dundas is located in Vinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundas
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chester, with the one closest to Chester listed first.
- Fillmore
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fillmore is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
- Redbush
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Redbush is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbush
- Decaturville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Decaturville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decaturville
- Porterfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Porterfield is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porterfield
- Corner
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Corner is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corner
- Rockland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rockland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
- Belpre
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Napier
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Napier is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napier
- Vincent
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Vincent is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vincent
- Barlow
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Barlow is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Wolf Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Wolf Creek is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Creek
- Watertown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Watertown is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watertown
- Jackson County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chester, with the one closest to Chester listed first.
- Neptune
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Neptune is located in Jackson County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neptune
- Sherman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sherman is located in Jackson County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman
- Skull Run
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Skull Run is located in Jackson County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skull Run
- Mozelle ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Mozelle is located in Jackson County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mozelle
- Willow Grove ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Willow Grove is located in Jackson County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Grove
- Willowdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Willowdale is located in Jackson County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowdale
- Ravenswood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Browning ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Browning is located in Jackson County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browning
- Millwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Millwood is located in Jackson County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millwood
- Wilding
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wilding is located in Jackson County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilding
- Beatysville ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Beatysville is located in Jackson County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beatysville
- Flatwoods
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Flatwoods is located in Jackson County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
- Mason County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chester, with the one closest to Chester listed first.
- Hartford City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hartford City is located in Mason County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 593 people
- New Haven
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mason
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Clifton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Clifton is located in Mason County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- West Columbia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- West Columbia is located in Mason County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Columbia
- Sassafras
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sassafras is located in Mason County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassafras
- Letart
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Letart is located in Mason County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letart
- York
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- York is located in Mason County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Flatrock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Flatrock is located in Mason County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatrock
- Meadowbrook
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Meadowbrook is located in Mason County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Point Pleasant
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Baden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Baden is located in Mason County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
- Roane County (WV)
- Reedy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Reedy is located in Roane County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
- Wirt County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chester, with the one closest to Chester listed first.
- Windy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Windy is located in Wirt County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windy
- Peewee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Peewee is located in Wirt County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peewee
- Palestine
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Palestine is located in Wirt County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Elizabeth
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Greencastle
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Greencastle is located in Wirt County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greencastle
- Newark
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Newark is located in Wirt County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
- Lucile
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lucile is located in Wirt County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucile
- Wood County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chester, with the one closest to Chester listed first.
- Wesley ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wesley is located in Wood County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
- Eli
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Eli is located in Wood County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eli
- Washington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lubeck
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Lubeck is located in Wood County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lubeck
- Blennerhassett
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Blennerhassett is located in Wood County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blennerhassett
- Pleasant View
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant View is located in Wood County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Mineral Acres
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Mineral Acres is located in Wood County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Acres
- Mineral Wells
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Parkersburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kanawha
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Kanawha is located in Wood County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha
- Leachtown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Leachtown is located in Wood County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leachtown
- Slate
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Slate is located in Wood County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Chester, see our County-by-County Page for Chester.
Cemeteries Near Chester ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chester.
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 Chester - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Chester covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Chester, with the one closest to Chester listed first.
- Chester Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Mound Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Ridenour Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Kennedy Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Eastman Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Herman Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Cowdery Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Keno Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Johnson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Worthen Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Massar & Koenig Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (814 more) ...
- Hemlock Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Keebaugh Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Sutton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
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 Chester had a population of 192 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Chester, with the one closest to Chester listed first.
- Keno
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Keno is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keno
- Bashan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bashan is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bashan
- Hemlock Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hemlock Grove is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock Grove
- Kingsbury
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Kingsbury is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsbury
- Minersville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Minersville is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minersville
- Alfred
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Alfred is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfred
- Hartford City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hartford City is located in Mason County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 593 people
- Syracuse
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hazael
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Hazael is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazael
- Murraysville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Murraysville is located in Jackson County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murraysville
- Long Bottom
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Fayal ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Fayal is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayal
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Flora
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Flora is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flora
- Tuppers Plains
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pomeroy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Chester. See our List of 1890's Communities around Chester.
Newspapers Published in Chester ...
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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chester.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Chester, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Chester.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Chester:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Meigs County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Athens County
- Gallia County
- Hocking County
- Morgan County
- Vinton County
- Washington County
- Jackson County
- Mason County
- Roane County
- Wirt County
- Wood County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Ohio
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 Chester, 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 from Point A (ie- Chester) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |