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Home >> State of West Virginia >> McDowell County >> Bottom Creek >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Bottom Creek (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 Bottom Creek. 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 Bottom Creek ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Bottom Creek: Bottom Crk. (or less commonly used: Bottom Ck. or Bottom Cr.)

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 and doctors 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.

Bottom Creek 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 Bottom Creek. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bottom Creek:

  • McDowell County     (The home county of Bottom Creek)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bottom Creek, with the one closest to Bottom Creek listed first.
    • Kimball
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Big Four
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Big Four is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Four
    • Keystone
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Kyle
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Kyle is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
    • Northfork
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Thorpe
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Thorpe is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorpe
    • Gary
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Gary is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
    • Welch
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Elkhorn
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Elkhorn is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
    • Anawalt
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Anawalt is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
    • Davy
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Davy is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 324 people
    • Big Sandy
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Big Sandy is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Sandy
    • Roderfield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Roderfield is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roderfield
  • Boone County
    • Rocklick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Rocklick is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocklick
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bottom Creek, with the one closest to Bottom Creek listed first.
    • Wylo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Wylo is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wylo
    • Mallory
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Mallory is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallory
    • Mineral City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Mineral City is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
    • Accoville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Accoville is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Accoville
    • Braeholm
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Braeholm is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braeholm
    • Kistler
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Kistler is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
    • Man
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Man is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Man
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 619 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Man <1>
  • Mercer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bottom Creek, with the one closest to Bottom Creek listed first.
    • Coaldale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Coaldale is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
    • Coopers
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Coopers is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
    • Weyanoke
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Weyanoke is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyanoke
    • Bramwell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Freeman
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Freeman is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
    • Flipping
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Flipping is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
    • Matoaka
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Matoaka is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaka
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
    • Nemours
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Yards
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Yards is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
    • Montcalm
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Montcalm is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcalm
    • Lashmeet
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Lashmeet is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lashmeet
    • Littlesburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Littlesburg is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
    • Bluefield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Mingo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bottom Creek, with the one closest to Bottom Creek listed first.
    • Gilbert Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Gilbert Creek is located in Mingo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert Creek
    • Gilbert
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Baisden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Wharncliffe
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Raleigh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bottom Creek, with the one closest to Bottom Creek listed first.
    • Rhodell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Rhodell is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
    • Helen
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Helen is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen
    • Eastgulf
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Eastgulf is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastgulf
    • Ury
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Ury is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ury
    • Slab Fork
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Slab Fork is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab Fork
    • Stotesbury
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Stotesbury is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stotesbury
    • Princewick
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Princewick is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princewick
    • Coal City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Coal City is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
    • Sophia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Bolt
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Bolt is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolt
    • Glen White
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Glen White is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen White
    • Lester
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Lester is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 312 people
    • Pemberton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Pemberton is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
  • Summers County
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bottom Creek, with the one closest to Bottom Creek listed first.
    • Woosley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Woosley is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woosley
    • Bud
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Bud is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
    • Mullensville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Mullensville is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullensville
    • Pineville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Mullens
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Fanny
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Fanny is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanny
    • Stoneville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Stoneville is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneville
    • Wyoming
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Wyoming is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
    • Rock View
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Rock View is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock View
    • Keyrock
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Keyrock is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyrock
    • Turkey
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Turkey is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey
    • Baileysville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Baileysville is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileysville
    • Clear Fork
      (17 miles [27.4 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 Bottom Creek, with the one closest to Bottom Creek listed first.
    • Rocky Gap
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Rocky Gap is located in Bland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
    • Hicksville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Hicksville is located in Bland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
    • Bastian
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Round Bottom
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Round Bottom is located in Bland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
    • Bland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Buchanan County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bottom Creek, with the one closest to Bottom Creek listed first.
    • Bearwallow
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Bearwallow is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
    • Peapatch
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Peapatch is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
    • Height
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
  • Tazewell County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bottom Creek, with the one closest to Bottom Creek listed first.
    • Boissevain
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Boissevain is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boissevain
    • Pocahontas
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
    • Abbs Valley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Abbs Valley is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
    • Yards
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Yards is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
    • Falls Mills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
    • Bishop
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Bishop is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
    • Shraders
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Shraders is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shraders
    • Saint Clair
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
    • Springville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Springville is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
    • Bluefield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Adria
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Adria is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adria
    • Sayersville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Sayersville is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayersville
    • Wittens Mills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills

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

Cemeteries Near Bottom Creek ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bottom Creek.

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 Bottom Creek - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Rockhouse Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • New Belcher Mtn. Community Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Old Belcher Mtn. Community Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Thorpe Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Algoma Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Mitchem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Rotenberry Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Bailey Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Hickory Ridge Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Evans Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Swim Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Rutherford Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (553 more) ...
    • Hollinsworth Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Bell Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Belcher Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)

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 Bottom Creek in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bottom Creek.

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

  • Kyle
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Kyle is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
  • Algoma
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Algoma is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algoma
  • Powhatan
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Powhatan is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
  • Elkhorn
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Elkhorn is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
  • Switchback
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Switchback is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Switchback
  • Ennis
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Ennis is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennis
  • Maybeury
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Coaldale
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Coaldale is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
  • Pineville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Pocahontas
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
  • Coopers
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Coopers is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
  • Bramwell
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Freeman
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Freeman is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
    • Newfound
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Newfound is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newfound
    • Abbs Valley ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Abbs Valley is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley

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

Newspapers Published in Bottom Creek ...

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 10 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bottom Creek.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bottom Creek, 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 Bottom Creek.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Bottom Creek:

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 Bottom Creek, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bottom Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.