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 Ames Heights (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 Ames Heights. 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 Ames Heights ...
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 Ames Heights: Ames Hts. (in Canada, 'Hgts.' is the more common abbreviation.)
- While the name of this community is Ames Heights, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Ames Heights may originally have been Ame's Heights.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Ames Heights might be written as Ame Heights.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.
Ames Heights is located in Fayette 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 Fayette County: Greenbrier, Kanawha, Nicholas, Raleigh & Summers.
Below are the counties that are near Ames Heights. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ames Heights:
- Fayette County (The home county of Ames Heights)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ames Heights, with the one closest to Ames Heights listed first.
- Lansing
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Grayden
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Grayden is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayden
- Fayette
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Fayette is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
- Kaymoor ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kaymoor is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaymoor
- Fayetteville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Victor
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Victor is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victor
- Ansted
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hawks Nest
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hawks Nest is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawks Nest
- Garten
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Garten is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garten
- Keeneys Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Keeneys Creek is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeneys Creek
- Beckwith
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cotton Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cotton Hill is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Hill
- Dempsey
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Dempsey is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dempsey
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ames Heights, with the one closest to Ames Heights listed first.
- Whitesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Whitesville is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 416 people
- Former names for Whitesville:
- Jarrods Valley
- Pritchard City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitesville <2>
- Elk Run Junction
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Elk Run Junction is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Run Junction
- Janie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Janie is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janie
- Former name for Janie:
- Mordue
- Joes Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Joes Creek is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joes Creek
- Sylvester
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Coopertown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Coopertown is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopertown
- Keith
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Keith is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keith
- Orgas
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Orgas is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orgas
- Fosterville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Fosterville is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosterville
- Cabot
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Cabot is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabot
- Comfort
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Kirbyton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Kirbyton is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyton
- Milltown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Milltown is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ames Heights, with the one closest to Ames Heights listed first.
- Hartland
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Hartland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Clay
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Elkhurst
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Elkhurst is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
- Bomont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Bomont is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bomont
- Spread
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Spread is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
- Widen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Widen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widen
- Porter
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Porter is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Procious
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Procious is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Procious
- Gould
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Harrison
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Valley Fork
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Wattsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Wattsville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Greenbrier County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ames Heights, with the one closest to Ames Heights listed first.
- Rainelle
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Charmco
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Crichton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Crichton is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crichton
- Hines
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Hines is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hines
- McRoss
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- McRoss is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRoss
- Orient Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Orient Hill is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orient Hill
- Quinwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Quinwood is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Brushy Junction ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Brushy Junction is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Junction
- Rupert
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Vale
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Vale is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Lile
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Lile is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lile
- Crawley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kieffer
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Kieffer is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieffer
- Kanawha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ames Heights, with the one closest to Ames Heights listed first.
- Handley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Handley is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
- Hugheston
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Hugheston is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugheston
- Pratt
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Pratt is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
- Carbon
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Carbon is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Hollygrove
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Hollygrove is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollygrove
- Hollygrove has also been known as:
- Hollygrove Station
- Hudnall
- Eskdale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Eskdale is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskdale
- Glasgow
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Acme
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Acme is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Ronda
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Ronda is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ronda
- Cedar Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Grove is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
- East Bank
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- East Bank is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bank
- Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
- Dry Branch
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
- Cabin Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Cabin Creek is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabin Creek
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ames Heights, with the one closest to Ames Heights listed first.
- Albion ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Albion is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Beech Glen
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Beech Glen is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Glen
- Runa
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Runa is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runa
- Tipton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Tipton is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Keslers Cross Lanes
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
- Morrison ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Morrison is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
- Dixie
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Dixie is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Zela
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Zela is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
- Snow Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Snow Hill is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Summersville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Carl
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Carl is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
- Odell Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Odell Town is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odell Town
- Odell Town has also been known as:
- Odell
- Peaser Junction ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Peaser Junction is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaser Junction
- Raleigh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ames Heights, with the one closest to Ames Heights listed first.
- Royal ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Royal is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Terry
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Terry is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terry
- Bradley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bradley is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Piney View
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Piney View is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney View
- Grandview
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Grandview is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Prosperity
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Prosperity is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosperity
- Skelton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Skelton is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skelton
- Stanaford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Stanaford is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanaford
- Sweeneyburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Sweeneyburg is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweeneyburg
- White Stick
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- White Stick is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Stick
- Abraham
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Abraham is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abraham
- Clifftop
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Clifftop is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifftop
- Sprague
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Sprague is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprague
- Summers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ames Heights, with the one closest to Ames Heights listed first.
- New Richmond ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- New Richmond is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
- Sandstone
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Brooklin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Brooklin is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
- Hinton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Jumping Branch
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
- Nimitz
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Nimitz is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimitz
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ames Heights, see our County-by-County Page for Ames Heights.
Cemeteries Near Ames Heights ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ames Heights.
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 Ames Heights - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ames Heights covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ames Heights, with the one closest to Ames Heights listed first.
- Willis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Huse Memorial Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Pierce Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Westlake Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Restlawn Memory Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- John Nugen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Mt. Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Abbot Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jennette Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Legg Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sugar Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (336 more) ...
- Abbott - Huddleston Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bays Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- High Lawn Memorial Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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 Ames Heights in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ames Heights.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ames Heights, with the one closest to Ames Heights listed first.
- Lansing
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Fayette
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Fayette is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
- Sunnyside ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Sunnyside is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
- Fayetteville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Gaymont
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Gaymont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaymont
- Nuttalburg ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Nuttalburg is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nuttalburg
- Edmond
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Edmond is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Ansted
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain Cove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mountain Cove is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Cove
- Hawks Nest
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hawks Nest is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawks Nest
- Keeneys Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Keeneys Creek is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeneys Creek
- Beauty
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Beauty is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauty
- Continue List (20 more) ...
- Cotton Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cotton Hill is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Hill
- Beckwith
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Dempsey
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Dempsey is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dempsey
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ames Heights. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ames Heights.
Newspapers Published in Ames Heights ...
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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ames Heights.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ames Heights, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ames Heights.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Ames Heights:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Fayette County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Boone County
- Clay County
- Greenbrier County
- Kanawha County
- Nicholas County
- Raleigh County
- Summers County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for West 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 Ames Heights, 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- Ames Heights) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |