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 Bright (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 Bright. 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 and 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.
Bright is located in Roane 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 Roane County: Calhoun, Clay, Jackson, Kanawha & Wirt.
Below are the counties that are near Bright. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bright:
- Roane County (The home county of Bright)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bright, with the one closest to Bright listed first.
- Kester ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Kester is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kester
- Roxalana
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Roxalana is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxalana
- Looneyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pigeon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Pigeon is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Rushville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rushville is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushville
- Graux
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Graux is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graux
- Walton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Mattie ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Mattie is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattie
- Spencer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Zona
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Zona is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zona
- Woodyard ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Woodyard is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodyard
- Cicerone
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Cicerone is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cicerone
- Braxton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bright, with the one closest to Bright listed first.
- Elmira
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Elmira is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
- Sleith ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Sleith is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleith
- Clem
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Clem is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clem
- Strange Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Strange Creek is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strange Creek
- Wilsie
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Wilsie is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsie
- Frametown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Frametown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frametown
- Rockton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Rockton is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockton
- Progress ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Progress is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progress
- Herold
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Herold is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herold
- Twistville ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Twistville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twistville
- Chapel
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Chapel is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel
- Gassaway
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bright, with the one closest to Bright listed first.
- Oka
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Oka is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oka
- Mudfork
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mudfork is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudfork
- Stinson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Stinson is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Beech
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Beech is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech
- Walnut
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Walnut is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Losie ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Losie is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Losie
- Pink
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Pink is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pink
- Gomez ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gomez is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gomez
- Orma
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Orma is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orma
- Arnoldsburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Arnoldsburg is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnoldsburg
- Rocksdale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Rocksdale is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocksdale
- Hur
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Hur is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hur
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bright, with the one closest to Bright listed first.
- Porter
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Porter is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Procious
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Procious is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Procious
- Valley Fork
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Dink
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Dink is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dink
- Lydia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Lydia is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lydia
- Bomont
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Bomont is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bomont
- Elkhurst
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Elkhurst is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
- Gould
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Spread
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Spread is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
- Clay
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ira
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Hartland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hartland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Fayette County
- Cannelton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Cannelton is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannelton
- Gilmer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bright, with the one closest to Bright listed first.
- Shock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Shock is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shock
- Stumptown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Stumptown is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stumptown
- Normantown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cedarville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cedarville is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- De Kalb
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- De Kalb is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Kalb
- Glenville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bright, with the one closest to Bright listed first.
- Fletcher
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Fletcher is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
- Kentuck
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Kentuck is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Romance
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Romance is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romance
- Aplin ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Aplin is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aplin
- Statts Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Statts Mills is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Statts Mills
- Kenna
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hereford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hereford is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hereford
- Liverpool
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Liverpool is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liverpool
- Fairplain
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Fairplain is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplain
- Meadowdale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Meadowdale is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowdale
- Garfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Garfield is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- Ripley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Kanawha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bright, with the one closest to Bright listed first.
- Wellford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Wellford is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellford
- Clendenin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Reamer
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Reamer is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reamer
- Falling Rock
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Falling Rock is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Rock
- Apgah ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Apgah is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apgah
- Youngs Bottom
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Youngs Bottom is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngs Bottom
- Island Branch
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Island Branch is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Branch
- Three Mile
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Three Mile is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Mile
- Aarons
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Aarons is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aarons
- Coco
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Coco is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coco
- Elkview
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Wills
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Wills is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wills
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bright, with the one closest to Bright listed first.
- Dixie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Dixie is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Birch River
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Beech Glen
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Beech Glen is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Glen
- Muddlety
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Muddlety is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddlety
- Tipton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Tipton is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Zela
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Zela is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
- Albion ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Albion is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bright, with the one closest to Bright listed first.
- Liberty
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Liberty is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Sigman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Sigman is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigman
- Paradise
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Paradise is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
- Wirt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bright, with the one closest to Bright listed first.
- Creston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Creston is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creston
- Lucile
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Lucile is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucile
- Burning Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Burning Springs is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burning Springs
- Peewee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Peewee is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peewee
- Palestine
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Palestine is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bright, see our County-by-County Page for Bright.
Cemeteries Near Bright ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bright.
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 Bright - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bright covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bright, with the one closest to Bright listed first.
- Carper Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Jarvis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Cook Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Looney Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Helmic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hershberger Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Vineyard Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hall Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Vineyard Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Criner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Jackson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hershberger Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (614 more) ...
- Groves Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Carper Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Newton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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.<2>
While we didn't find Bright in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bright.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bright, with the one closest to Bright listed first.
- Kester ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Kester is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kester
- Newton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Newton is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
- Clio
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Clio is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clio
- Amma
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Amma is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amma
- Roxalana
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Roxalana is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxalana
- Looneyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Oka
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Oka is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oka
- Osbornes Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Osbornes Mills is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osbornes Mills
- Pigeon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Pigeon is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Linden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Linden is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
- Wellford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Wellford is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellford
- Walnut Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Walnut Grove is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Stinson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Stinson is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Buffalolick ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Buffalolick is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalolick
- Procious
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Procious is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Procious
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bright. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bright.
Newspapers Published in Bright ...
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 9 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bright.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bright, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bright.
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 Bright:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Roane County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Braxton County
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Fayette County
- Gilmer County
- Jackson County
- Kanawha County
- Nicholas County
- Putnam County
- Wirt County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for West Virginia
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> | 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 Bright, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Bright) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |