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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 Beckley (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 Beckley. 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 southwest 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 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.

Beckley is located in Raleigh County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of West Virginia's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Raleigh County: Boone, Fayette, Kanawha, Mercer, Summers & Wyoming.

Below are the counties that are near Beckley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Beckley:

  • Raleigh County     (The home county of Beckley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beckley, with the one closest to Beckley listed first.
    • Sprague
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Raleigh
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Raleigh. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh
      • Raleigh is located in Raleigh County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Raleigh
      • From Beckley to Raleigh
    • Mabscott
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mabscott have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabscott
      • Mabscott is located in Raleigh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,251 people
    • MacArthur
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for MacArthur have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for MacArthur
      • MacArthur is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for MacArthur <3>
    • Old Mill Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Mill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Mill Village
      • Old Mill Village is located in Raleigh County
    • Wickham
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wickham. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickham
      • Wickham is located in Raleigh County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wickham
      • From Beckley to Wickham
    • Skelton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • White Stick
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Clifftop
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Stanaford
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanaford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanaford
      • Stanaford is located in Raleigh County
    • Beaver
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Crab Orchard
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crab Orchard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Orchard
      • Crab Orchard is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crab Orchard <3>
  • Boone County
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beckley, with the one closest to Beckley listed first.
    • Kilsyth
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kilsyth. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilsyth
      • Kilsyth is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kilsyth
      • From Beckley to Kilsyth
    • Mount Hope
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
      • Mount Hope is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,259 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Hope <3>
    • Prince
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Quinnimont
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • White Oak Junction
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • McKendree
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McKendree have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
      • McKendree is located in Fayette County
    • Pax
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pax have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pax
      • Pax is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
    • Harvey
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Redstar
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Redstar. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstar
      • Redstar is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Redstar
      • From Beckley to Redstar
    • Roseville ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Roseville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
      • Roseville is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Roseville
      • From Beckley to Roseville
    • Alaska ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alaska have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
      • Alaska is located in Fayette County
    • Newlyn ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Newlyn. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlyn
      • Newlyn is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Newlyn
      • From Beckley to Newlyn
  • Greenbrier County
  • Kanawha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beckley, with the one closest to Beckley listed first.
    • Carbon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Acme
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Eskdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Handley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Handley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
      • Handley is located in Kanawha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
    • Hollygrove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Ronda
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • McDowell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beckley, with the one closest to Beckley listed first.
    • Northfork
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northfork have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northfork
      • Northfork is located in McDowell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Northfork <3>
    • Keystone
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keystone have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone
      • Keystone is located in McDowell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keystone <3>
    • Kyle
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kyle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
      • Kyle is located in McDowell County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kyle
      • From Beckley to Kyle
    • Elkhorn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Kimball
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Big Four
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Mercer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beckley, with the one closest to Beckley listed first.
    • Lashmeet
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Matoaka
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Matoaka have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaka
      • Matoaka is located in Mercer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
    • Weyanoke
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Athens
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Oak Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oak Grove. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
      • Oak Grove is located in Mercer County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Oak Grove
      • From Beckley to Oak Grove
    • Princeton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Johnston Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnston Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnston Town
      • Johnston Town is located in Mercer County
    • Montcalm
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montcalm have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcalm
      • Montcalm is located in Mercer County
    • Elgood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Flipping
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Flipping. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
      • Flipping is located in Mercer County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Flipping
      • From Beckley to Flipping
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beckley, with the one closest to Beckley listed first.
    • Creamery
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Creamery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
      • Creamery is located in Monroe County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Creamery
      • From Beckley to Creamery
    • Ballard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Summers County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beckley, with the one closest to Beckley listed first.
    • Jumping Branch
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • New Richmond ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Nimitz
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Sandstone
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Brooklin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brooklin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
      • Brooklin is located in Summers County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Brooklin
      • From Beckley to Brooklin
    • Hinton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bellepoint
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Packs Ferry
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Packs Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry
      • Packs Ferry is located in Summers County
    • True
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for True. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True
      • True is located in Summers County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to True
      • From Beckley to True
    • Pipestem
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Buck
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Buck. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
      • Buck is located in Summers County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Buck
      • From Beckley to Buck
    • Hilldale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hilldale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
      • Hilldale is located in Summers County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hilldale
      • From Beckley to Hilldale
  • Wyoming County

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Beckley, see our County-by-County Page for Beckley.

Cemeteries Near Beckley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Beckley.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Beckley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Beckley, with the one closest to Beckley listed first.

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.<5>

While we didn't find Beckley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Beckley.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Beckley, with the one closest to Beckley listed first.

  • Prosperity
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Pemberton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pemberton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
    • Pemberton is located in Raleigh County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Pemberton
    • From Beckley to Pemberton
  • Daniels
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Daniels have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniels
    • Daniels is located in Raleigh County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Daniels <3>
  • Lester
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lester have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
    • Lester is located in Raleigh County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 312 people
  • Shady Spring
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Crow
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow
    • Crow is located in Raleigh County
  • Grandview
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grandview. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
    • Grandview is located in Raleigh County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Grandview
    • From Beckley to Grandview
  • Mount Hope
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
    • Mount Hope is located in Fayette County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,259 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Hope <3>
  • Prince
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Cirtsville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cirtsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cirtsville
    • Cirtsville is located in Raleigh County
  • Matville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Matville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matville
    • Matville is located in Raleigh County
  • Quinnimont
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Glade
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glade have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade
      • Glade is located in Fayette County
    • McKendree
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McKendree have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
      • McKendree is located in Fayette County
    • Roseville ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Roseville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
      • Roseville is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Roseville
      • From Beckley to Roseville

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Beckley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Beckley.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Beckley ...

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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Beckley.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Beckley. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Beckley and those printed in the larger area surrounding Beckley.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 6 miles [9.7 km]<6> of Beckley.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites 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 Beckley:

The official website for Beckley: www.beckley.org/

The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 Beckley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Beckley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Beckley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.7779, Longitude: -81.1879    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025