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 Olean (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 Olean. 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.
Olean is located in Giles 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 Giles County: Bland, Craig, Montgomery, Pulaski, Mercer (WV), Monroe (WV) & Summers (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Olean. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Olean:
- Giles County (The home county of Olean)
- The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
- Pembroke
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Pearisburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bluff City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bluff City is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Mountain Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mountain Lake is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake
- Eggleston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Kire
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Kire is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kire
- Rich Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Goodwins Ferry
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Goodwins Ferry is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwins Ferry
- Narrows
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lurich
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Lurich is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich
- Newport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Newport is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Glen Lyn
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Glen Lyn is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Lyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Bland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
- Mechanicsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
- Round Bottom
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Round Bottom is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
- Rocky Gap
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Hicksville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Craig County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
- Captain
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Captain is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Captain
- Huffman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Huffman is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Simmonsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Simmonsville is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmonsville
- Abbott
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Abbott is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- Floyd County
- Sowers
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sowers is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sowers
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
- Prices Fork
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Prices Fork is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prices Fork
- McBryde Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- McBryde Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBryde Village
- Mount Tabor Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Tabor Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tabor Village
- Sundance Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sundance Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sundance Village
- Blacksburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Merrimac
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Merrimac is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
- Bennetts Mill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bennetts Mill is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennetts Mill
- Ellett
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ellett is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellett
- Christiansburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Houchins
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Houchins is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houchins
- Old Farm Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Old Farm Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Farm Village
- Raintree Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Raintree Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raintree Village
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
- Parrott
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Parrott is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrott
- Cowan
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Cowan is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
- Fairlawn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Fairlawn is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn
- Sassin ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sassin is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
- Dublin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Newbern
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hilton Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Hilton Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
- Wurno
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Wurno is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurno
- Pulaski
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Snowville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Snowville is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowville
- Draper
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Mack Creek Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Mack Creek Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack Creek Village
- Radford City
- The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
- Mill Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Mill Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
- Radford
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- New Town
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- New Town is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Radford Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Radford Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford Village
- Simpkins Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Simpkins Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpkins Village
- Sunset Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Sunset Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Roanoke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
- Moomaw ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Moomaw is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moomaw
- Riverside
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Riverside is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Catawba
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Wabun
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Wabun is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabun
- Greenbrier County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
- Alderson
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rockland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Rockland is located in Greenbrier County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
- Fort Spring
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Fort Spring is located in Greenbrier County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Spring
- Frazier
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Frazier is located in Greenbrier County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier
- Ronceverte
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Fairlea
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Lewisburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Caldwell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Logan County (WV)
- Rich Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Rich Creek is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
- Mercer County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
- Willowton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Willowton is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowton
- Elgood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Elgood is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgood
- Oakvale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Oakvale is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakvale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Athens
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- East River ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- East River is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
- Oak Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Oak Grove is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Blake ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Blake is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
- Princeton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- El Centro ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- El Centro is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Centro
- Johnston Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Johnston Town is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnston Town
- Edison
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Edison is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Monroe County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
- Assurance
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Assurance is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assurance
- Peterstown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wikel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Wikel is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wikel
- Ballard
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ballard is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
- Wayside
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Wayside is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside
- Union
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Union is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Population from the 2020 Census: 539 people
- Creamery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Creamery is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Hillsdale
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Hillsdale is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Wolfcreek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Wolfcreek is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfcreek
- Hollywood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hollywood is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
- Summers County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
- Mercers Saltworks ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mercers Saltworks is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercers Saltworks
- Forest Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bargers Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Bargers Springs is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bargers Springs
- Buck
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Buck is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
- Lowell
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Lowell is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Talcott
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Hilldale
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Hilldale is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
- Pipestem
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Riffe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Riffe is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riffe
- Packs Ferry
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Packs Ferry is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry
- True
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- True is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True
- Bellepoint
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bellepoint is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellepoint
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Olean, see our County-by-County Page for Olean.
Cemeteries Near Olean ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Olean.
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 Olean - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Olean covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
- Reed Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Snidow Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Snidow Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bradley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Snider Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Chambers Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Broyles Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mason French Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Birchlawn Burial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hoges Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Lebanon Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Karnes Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (288 more) ...
- Fortner Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Swope Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lively Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
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>
While we didn't find Olean in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Olean.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
- Kimballton
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Kimballton is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimballton
- Ripplemead
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Ripplemead is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripplemead
- Pembroke
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Lindside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Pearisburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bluff City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bluff City is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Eggleston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mountain Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mountain Lake is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake
- Rock Camp
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Rock Camp is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Camp
- Cashmere
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cashmere is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashmere
- Assurance
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Assurance is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assurance
- Peterstown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Maybrook
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Maybrook is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maybrook
- Ballard
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ballard is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
- Rich Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Rich Creek is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Olean. See our List of 1890's Communities around Olean.
Newspapers Published in Olean ...
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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Olean.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Olean, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Olean.
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 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 Olean:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Giles County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bland County
- Craig County
- Floyd County
- Montgomery County
- Pulaski County
- Radford City
- Roanoke County
- Greenbrier County
- Logan County
- Mercer County
- Monroe County
- Summers County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Virginia
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | 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 Olean, 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- Olean) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |