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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 Black Wolf (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 Black Wolf. 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 hospitals 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.

Black Wolf is located in McDowell 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 McDowell County: Buchanan (VA), Tazewell (VA), Mercer, Mingo & Wyoming.

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

  • McDowell County     (The home county of Black Wolf)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Wolf, with the one closest to Black Wolf listed first.
    • Anawalt
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Anawalt is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
    • Thorpe
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Thorpe is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorpe
    • Gary
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Gary is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
    • Big Four
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Big Four is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Four
    • Keystone
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Elkhorn
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Elkhorn is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
    • Kimball
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Kyle
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Kyle is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
    • Northfork
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Welch
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Welch is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,575 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welch <1>
    • Newhall
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Newhall is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhall
    • Bishop
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Bishop is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
  • Logan County
    • Wylo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Wylo is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wylo
  • Mercer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Wolf, with the one closest to Black Wolf listed first.
    • Coaldale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Coaldale is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
    • Coopers
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Coopers is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
    • Bramwell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Freeman
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Freeman is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
    • Nemours
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Yards
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Yards is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
    • Flipping
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Flipping is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
    • Montcalm
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Montcalm is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcalm
    • Weyanoke
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Weyanoke is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyanoke
    • Littlesburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Littlesburg is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
    • Matoaka
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Matoaka is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaka
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
    • Bluefield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Mingo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Wolf, with the one closest to Black Wolf listed first.
    • Gilbert Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Gilbert Creek is located in Mingo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert Creek
    • Baisden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Gilbert
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Wharncliffe
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Raleigh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Wolf, with the one closest to Black Wolf listed first.
    • Rhodell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • 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 northeast)
      • Eastgulf is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastgulf
    • Helen
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Helen is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen
    • Ury
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Ury is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ury
    • Slab Fork
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Slab Fork is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab Fork
    • Princewick
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Princewick is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princewick
    • Stotesbury
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Stotesbury is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stotesbury
    • Coal City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Coal City is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
    • Sophia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bolt
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Bolt is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolt
    • 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
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Wolf, with the one closest to Black Wolf listed first.
    • Woosley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Woosley is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woosley
    • Bud
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Bud is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
    • Mullensville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Mullensville is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullensville
    • Pineville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Fanny
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Fanny is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanny
    • Stoneville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Stoneville is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneville
    • Mullens
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Wyoming
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Wyoming is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
    • Rock View
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Rock View is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock View
    • Keyrock
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Keyrock is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyrock
    • Baileysville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Baileysville is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileysville
    • Turkey
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Turkey is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey
  • Bland County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Wolf, with the one closest to Black Wolf listed first.
    • Rocky Gap
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Rocky Gap is located in Bland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
    • Hicksville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Hicksville is located in Bland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
    • Bastian
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Round Bottom
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Round Bottom is located in Bland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
    • Bland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Buchanan County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Wolf, with the one closest to Black Wolf listed first.
    • Bearwallow
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Bearwallow is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
    • Peapatch
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Peapatch is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
    • Height
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Height is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
    • Jackson Flats
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jackson Flats is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
    • Paynesville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Paynesville is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
    • Matney
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Matney is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matney
    • Mavisdale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Mavisdale is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mavisdale
  • Russell County (VA)
    • Dye
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Dye is located in Russell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dye
  • Smyth County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Wolf, with the one closest to Black Wolf listed first.
    • Ellendale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Ellendale is located in Smyth County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
    • Broadford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Broadford is located in Smyth County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
  • Tazewell County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Black Wolf, with the one closest to Black Wolf listed first.
    • Abbs Valley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Abbs Valley is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
    • Boissevain
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Boissevain is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boissevain
    • Pocahontas
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
    • Bishop
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Bishop is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
    • Falls Mills
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
    • Yards
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Yards is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
    • Shraders
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Shraders is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shraders
    • Springville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Springville is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
    • Wittens Mills
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
    • Saint Clair
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
    • Adria
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Adria is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adria
    • Five Oaks
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Five Oaks is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Oaks

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

Cemeteries Near Black Wolf ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Black Wolf.

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 Black Wolf - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Thorpe Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Old Belcher Mtn. Community Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Dillon Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • New Belcher Mtn. Community Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Swim Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Bowman Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Rockhouse Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Harper Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Taylor Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Mohawk Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Mohawk Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Mohawk Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (513 more) ...
    • Mohawk Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Music Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Rutherford Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)

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.<3>

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

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

  • Ennis
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ennis is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennis
  • Elkhorn
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Elkhorn is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
  • Powhatan
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Powhatan is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
  • Maybeury
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Switchback
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Switchback is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Switchback
  • Kyle
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Kyle is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
  • Algoma
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Algoma is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algoma
  • Pocahontas
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
  • Coopers
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Coopers is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
  • Coaldale
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Coaldale is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
  • Bailey
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Bailey is located in Tazewell County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
  • Bramwell
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Shraders
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Shraders is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shraders
    • Springville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Springville is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
    • Falls Mills
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills

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

Newspapers Published in Black Wolf ...

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 6 newspapers that have been published in the area around Black Wolf.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Black Wolf, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Black Wolf.

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 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 Black Wolf:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>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.
<3>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 Black Wolf, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Black Wolf) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.