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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 Browning (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 Browning. 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 northwest 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 north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Browning is located in Summers 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 Summers County: Giles (VA), Fayette, Greenbrier, Mercer, Monroe & Raleigh.

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

  • Summers County     (The home county of Browning)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Browning, with the one closest to Browning listed first.
    • Bellepoint
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Bellepoint is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellepoint
    • Brooklin
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Brooklin is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
    • Hinton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Packs Ferry
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Packs Ferry is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry
    • Hilldale
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Hilldale is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
    • Buck
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Buck is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
    • Talcott
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Nimitz
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Nimitz is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimitz
    • Bargers Springs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Bargers Springs is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bargers Springs
    • Forest Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • True
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • True is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True
    • Jumping Branch
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Browning, with the one closest to Browning listed first.
    • Meadow Bridge
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Meadow Bridge is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Bridge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
    • Spring Dale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Spring Dale is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Dale
    • Prince
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Quinnimont
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Quinnimont is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinnimont
    • Bellwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Bellwood is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
    • McKendree
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • McKendree is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
    • Alaska ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Alaska is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
    • Maywood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Maywood is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maywood
    • Sewell Knob ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Sewell Knob is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewell Knob
      • Sewell Knob has also been known as:
      • Swell Knob
    • Stonecliff ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Stonecliff is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonecliff
      • Stonecliff has also been known as:
      • Stone Cliff
    • Mount Hope
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Newlyn ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Newlyn is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlyn
  • Greenbrier County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Browning, with the one closest to Browning listed first.
    • Alderson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Frazier
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Frazier is located in Greenbrier County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier
    • Vale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Vale is located in Greenbrier County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
    • Fort Spring
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Fort Spring is located in Greenbrier County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Spring
    • Rockland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Rockland is located in Greenbrier County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
    • Ronceverte
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Rainelle
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Crawley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Fairlea
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Rupert
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Kieffer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Kieffer is located in Greenbrier County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieffer
    • Lewisburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Logan County
    • Rich Creek
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Rich Creek is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
  • Mercer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Browning, with the one closest to Browning listed first.
    • Elgood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Elgood is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgood
    • Athens
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Willowton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Willowton is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowton
    • Oak Grove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Oak Grove is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Oakvale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Oakvale is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakvale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
    • Princeton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • East River ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • East River is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
    • Lashmeet
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Lashmeet is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lashmeet
    • Johnston Town
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Johnston Town is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnston Town
    • Blake ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Blake is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
    • Matoaka
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Matoaka is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaka
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
    • El Centro ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • El Centro is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Centro
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Browning, with the one closest to Browning listed first.
    • Creamery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Creamery is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
    • Wayside
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Wayside is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside
    • Wolfcreek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Wolfcreek is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfcreek
    • Ballard
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Ballard is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
    • Assurance
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Assurance is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assurance
    • Wikel
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Wikel is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wikel
    • Union
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Union is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 539 people
    • Peterstown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Hillsdale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Hillsdale is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
    • Hollywood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Hollywood is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
  • Raleigh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Browning, with the one closest to Browning listed first.
    • Abraham
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Abraham is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abraham
    • Shady Spring
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Daniels
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Beaver
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Clifftop
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Clifftop is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifftop
    • Grandview
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Grandview is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
    • Royal ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Royal is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
    • Raleigh
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Raleigh is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh
    • Sullivan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Sullivan is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
    • Tilden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Tilden is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilden
    • Beckley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Coal City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Coal City is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Browning, with the one closest to Browning listed first.
    • Bud
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Bud is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
    • Mullens
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Bland County (VA)
    • Round Bottom
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Round Bottom is located in Bland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
  • Craig County (VA)
    • Captain
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Captain is located in Craig County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Captain
  • Giles County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Browning, with the one closest to Browning listed first.
    • Lurich
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Lurich is located in Giles County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich
    • Rich Creek
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Glen Lyn
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Glen Lyn is located in Giles County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Lyn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
    • Bluff City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Bluff City is located in Giles County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
    • Narrows
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Narrows is located in Giles County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narrows
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,949 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Narrows <1>
    • Pearisburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Shumate
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Shumate is located in Giles County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
    • Kire
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Kire is located in Giles County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kire
    • Pembroke
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Mountain Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Mountain Lake is located in Giles County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake
    • Thessalia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Thessalia is located in Giles County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
    • Eggleston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Browning ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Browning.

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 Browning - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Greenbrier Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Hilltop Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Upland Memorial Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Huffman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Bennett Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Restwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Lilly - Crews Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly - Crews Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Lilly - Crews Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the south of Nimitz.
    • The Lilly - Crews Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Crews Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1960819 <2>
  • Meadows Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Meadows Family Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Adkins Family Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Snider Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Barton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (299 more) ...

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<4>

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

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

  • Wiggins
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Wiggins is located in Summers County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiggins
  • Packs Ferry
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Packs Ferry is located in Summers County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry
  • Hinton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Buck
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Buck is located in Summers County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
  • Hilldale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Hilldale is located in Summers County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
  • Brooks
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Brooks is located in Summers County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
  • Talcott
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • True
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • True is located in Summers County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True
  • Forest Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Bargers Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bargers Springs is located in Summers County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bargers Springs
  • Jumping Branch
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
  • Lowell
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Lowell is located in Summers County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Ellison
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Ellison is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellison
    • Sandstone
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Warford ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Warford is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warford

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

Newspapers Published in Browning ...

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 23 newspapers that have been published in the area around Browning.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Browning, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Browning.

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 Browning:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Browning) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Browning, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.