Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Abbs Valley. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Abbs Valley to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Abbs Valley, please Contact Us.
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 Abbs Valley (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 Abbs Valley. 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 Abbs Valley ...
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 Abbs Valley: Abbs Vly. (or less commonly used: Abbs Vally. or Abbs Vlly.)
- While the name of this community is Abbs Valley, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<2>. So Abbs Valley may originally have been Abb's Valley.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Abbs Valley might be written as Abb Valley.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Abbs Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Abbs Valley.
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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Abbs Valley is historic, it would have been located within present day Mercer County.
To see how the shape of West 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 Mercer County: Bland (VA), Giles (VA), Tazewell (VA), McDowell, Raleigh, Summers & Wyoming.
Below are the counties that are near Abbs Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Abbs Valley:
- Mercer County (The home county of Abbs Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Abbs Valley, with the one closest to Abbs Valley listed first.
- Nemours
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Yards
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Yards is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Bramwell
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Freeman
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Freeman is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Coopers
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Coopers is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
- Flipping
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Flipping is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
- Littlesburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Littlesburg is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
- Montcalm
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Montcalm is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcalm
- Coaldale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Coaldale is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Bluefield
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Edison
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Edison is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- Matoaka
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Matoaka is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
- Logan County
- Rich Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Rich Creek is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
- McDowell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Abbs Valley, with the one closest to Abbs Valley listed first.
- Anawalt
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Anawalt is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
- Elkhorn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Elkhorn is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
- Kyle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Kyle is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
- Northfork
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Keystone
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Thorpe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Thorpe is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorpe
- Big Four
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Big Four is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Four
- Kimball
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Gary
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Gary is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
- Bishop
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bishop is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Welch
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Newhall
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Newhall is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhall
- War
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- War is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War
- Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
- Monroe County
- Peterstown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Raleigh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Abbs Valley, with the one closest to Abbs Valley listed first.
- Rhodell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Rhodell is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
- Eastgulf
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Eastgulf is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastgulf
- Helen
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Helen is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen
- Ury
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Ury is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ury
- Princewick
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Princewick is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princewick
- Coal City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Coal City is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Slab Fork
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Slab Fork is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab Fork
- Stotesbury
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Stotesbury is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stotesbury
- Sophia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Pemberton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Pemberton is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
- Sullivan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Sullivan is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
- Glen White
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Glen White is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen White
- Lester
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Lester is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 312 people
- Summers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Abbs Valley, with the one closest to Abbs Valley listed first.
- Pipestem
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mercers Saltworks ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mercers Saltworks is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercers Saltworks
- True
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- True is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True
- Jumping Branch
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
- Nimitz
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Nimitz is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimitz
- Wyoming County
- The following are listed by their distance from Abbs Valley, with the one closest to Abbs Valley listed first.
- Bud
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Bud is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
- Mullens
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Woosley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Woosley is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woosley
- Mullensville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Mullensville is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullensville
- Pineville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Fanny
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fanny is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanny
- Keyrock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Keyrock is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyrock
- Rock View
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rock View is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock View
- Stoneville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Stoneville is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneville
- Wyoming
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wyoming is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
- Turkey
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Turkey is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey
- Baileysville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Baileysville is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileysville
- Clear Fork
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Clear Fork is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Fork
- Bland County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Abbs Valley, with the one closest to Abbs Valley listed first.
- Rocky Gap
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Hicksville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Bastian
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Round Bottom
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Round Bottom is located in Bland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
- Bland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mechanicsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
- Buchanan County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Abbs Valley, with the one closest to Abbs Valley listed first.
- Bearwallow
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Bearwallow is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Peapatch
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Peapatch is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
- Height
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Height is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
- Giles County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Abbs Valley, with the one closest to Abbs Valley listed first.
- Glen Lyn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Glen Lyn is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Lyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Shumate
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Shumate is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
- Lurich
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lurich is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich
- Rich Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Narrows
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Thessalia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Thessalia is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
- Bluff City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Bluff City is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Pulaski County (VA)
- Sassin ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Sassin is located in Pulaski County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
- Smyth County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Abbs Valley, with the one closest to Abbs Valley listed first.
- Atkins
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Ellendale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ellendale is located in Smyth County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Tazewell County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Abbs Valley, with the one closest to Abbs Valley listed first.
- Yards
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Yards is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Falls Mills
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Pocahontas
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
- Bluefield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Clair
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- Boissevain
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Boissevain is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boissevain
- Abbs Valley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Abbs Valley is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
- Springville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Springville is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Shawver Mill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
- Little Town
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Little Town is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
- Wittens Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
- Five Oaks
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Five Oaks is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Oaks
- Bishop
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bishop is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Wythe County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Abbs Valley, with the one closest to Abbs Valley listed first.
- Wytheville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rural Retreat
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Kent
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kent is located in Wythe County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Crockett
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Max Meadows
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Abbs Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Abbs Valley.
Cemeteries Near Abbs Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Abbs Valley.
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 Abbs Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Abbs Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Abbs Valley, with the one closest to Abbs Valley listed first.
- Witten Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Delp Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mt. Herman Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Rye Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Page Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Belcher Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Brown Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Butt Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Phillips Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Butt Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Lambert Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Continue List (429 more) ...
- Miles Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Powell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Isaac Bell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
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.
Abbs Valley itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Abbs Valley, with the one closest to Abbs Valley listed first.
- Falls Mills
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Bramwell
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Freeman
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Freeman is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Coopers
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Coopers is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
- Pocahontas
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
- Duhring
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Duhring is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duhring
- Flipping
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Flipping is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
- Saint Clair
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- Coaldale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Coaldale is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Bluefield
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Maybeury
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Switchback
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Switchback is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Switchback
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Bailey
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bailey is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- New Hope
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- New Hope is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Abbs Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Abbs Valley.
Newspapers Published in Abbs Valley ...
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 24 newspapers that have been published in the area around Abbs Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Abbs Valley, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Abbs Valley.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Abbs Valley:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Mercer County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Logan County
- McDowell County
- Monroe County
- Raleigh County
- Summers County
- Wyoming County
- Bland County
- Buchanan County
- Giles County
- Pulaski County
- Smyth County
- Tazewell County
- Wythe County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for West Virginia
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Abbs Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | 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). |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Abbs Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |