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 Wittens Fort (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 Wittens Fort. 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 Wittens Fort ...
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 occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Wittens Fort: Wittens Ft. (or less commonly used: Wittens Frt.)
- While the name of this community is Wittens Fort, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Wittens Fort may originally have been Witten's Fort.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Wittens Fort might be written as Witten Fort.
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 hospitals and 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.
Wittens Fort is located in Tazewell 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 Tazewell County: Bland, Buchanan, Russell, Smyth, McDowell (WV) & Mercer (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Wittens Fort. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wittens Fort:
- Tazewell County (The home county of Wittens Fort)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wittens Fort, with the one closest to Wittens Fort listed first.
- Pisgah
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Pisgah is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Tazewell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Maxwell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Maxwell is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Adria
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Adria is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adria
- Thompson Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Thompson Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson Valley
- Shraders
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Shraders is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shraders
- Five Oaks
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Five Oaks is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Oaks
- Dunford Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Dunford Village is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunford Village
- Sayersville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Sayersville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayersville
- Bishop
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Bishop is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Wittens Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
- Asberrys
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Asberrys is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asberrys
- Harman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Harman is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harman
- Bland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wittens Fort, with the one closest to Wittens Fort listed first.
- Bastian
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Hicksville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Bland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Rocky Gap
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Round Bottom
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Round Bottom is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
- Buchanan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wittens Fort, with the one closest to Wittens Fort listed first.
- Bearwallow
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bearwallow is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Peapatch
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Peapatch is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
- Height
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Height is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
- Jackson Flats
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson Flats is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
- Paynesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Paynesville is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Mavisdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Mavisdale is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mavisdale
- Rowe
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Rowe is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe
- Matney
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Matney is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matney
- Janey
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Janey is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janey
- Council
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Council is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
- Royal City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Royal City is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal City
- Vansant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Grayson County
- Trout Dale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Russell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wittens Fort, with the one closest to Wittens Fort listed first.
- Dye
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Dye is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dye
- Honaker
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Russell
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Russell is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Elk Garden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Elk Garden is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Garden
- Barnett
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Barnett is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnett
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wittens Fort, with the one closest to Wittens Fort listed first.
- Ellendale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Ellendale is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Broadford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Broadford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
- Cardwell Town
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Cardwell Town is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardwell Town
- Marion
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Mount Carmel
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Atkins
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Allison Gap
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Allison Gap is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allison Gap
- Saltville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Seven Mile Ford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Seven Mile Ford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Mile Ford
- Adwolf
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Adwolf is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adwolf
- Chilhowie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Sugar Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wittens Fort, with the one closest to Wittens Fort listed first.
- Clinchburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Clinchburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinchburg
- Fleet
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Glade Spring
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Loves Mill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Loves Mill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loves Mill
- Friendship
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Friendship is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Lindell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lindell is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindell
- Glenford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Glenford is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenford
- Lodi
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lodi is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Masada
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Masada is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masada
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wittens Fort, with the one closest to Wittens Fort listed first.
- Rural Retreat
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Crockett
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rowe Crossroads
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
- Wytheville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Speedwell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- McDowell County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wittens Fort, with the one closest to Wittens Fort listed first.
- Bishop
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Bishop is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Newhall
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Newhall is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhall
- War
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- War is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War
- Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
- Yukon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Yukon is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yukon
- Anawalt
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Anawalt is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
- Peapatch
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Peapatch is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
- Gary
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Gary is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
- Thorpe
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Thorpe is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorpe
- Height
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Height is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
- Big Four
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Big Four is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Four
- Elkhorn
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Elkhorn is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
- Bradshaw
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Keystone
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Mercer County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wittens Fort, with the one closest to Wittens Fort listed first.
- Yards
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Yards is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Coopers
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Coopers is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
- Nemours
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bramwell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Freeman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Freeman is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Bluefield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Coaldale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Coaldale is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Flipping
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Flipping is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
- Montcalm
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Montcalm is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcalm
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Littlesburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Littlesburg is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
- Edison
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Edison is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- Weyanoke
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Weyanoke is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyanoke
- Wyoming County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wittens Fort, with the one closest to Wittens Fort listed first.
- Woosley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Woosley is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woosley
- Bud
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Bud is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
- Fanny
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Fanny is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanny
- Stoneville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Stoneville is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wittens Fort, see our County-by-County Page for Wittens Fort.
Cemeteries Near Wittens Fort ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wittens Fort.
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 Wittens Fort - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wittens Fort covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wittens Fort, with the one closest to Wittens Fort listed first.
- Maplewood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Hezekiah Harman Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Watts Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Peery Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Buchanan Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Crabtree Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Thompson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Thompson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Witten Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mays Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wilburn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Herts Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (726 more) ...
- Bowen Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Morton Cemetery
- The Morton Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morton Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #51238 <3>
- Graham Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
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 Wittens Fort in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wittens Fort.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wittens Fort, with the one closest to Wittens Fort listed first.
- Pisgah
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Pisgah is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Maxwell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Maxwell is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Thompson Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Thompson Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson Valley
- Gap Store
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Gap Store is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gap Store
- Gillespie
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Gillespie is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillespie
- Five Oaks
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Five Oaks is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Oaks
- Sayersville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Sayersville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayersville
- Shraders
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Shraders is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shraders
- Wittens Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
- Asberrys
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Asberrys is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asberrys
- Harman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Harman is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harman
- Pounding Mill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Gratton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Gratton is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gratton
- Cedar Bluff
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Tannersville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Tannersville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannersville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wittens Fort. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wittens Fort.
Newspapers Published in Wittens Fort ...
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 9 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wittens Fort.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wittens Fort, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wittens Fort.
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 Wittens Fort:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Tazewell County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bland County
- Buchanan County
- Grayson County
- Russell County
- Smyth County
- Washington County
- Wythe County
- McDowell County
- Mercer County
- Wyoming County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Virginia
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Wittens Fort, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Wittens Fort) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |