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 Canaan (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 Canaan. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Canaan is located in Upshur 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 Upshur County: Barbour, Harrison, Lewis, Randolph & Webster.
Below are the counties that are near Canaan. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Canaan:
- Upshur County (The home county of Canaan)
- The following are listed by their distance from Canaan, with the one closest to Canaan listed first.
- Goshen
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Goshen is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Kanawha Head
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Kanawha Head is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha Head
- Alexander
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Alexander is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- Wilsontown
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Wilsontown is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsontown
- Rock Cave
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Rock Cave is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Cave
- Alton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Alton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Beans Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Beans Mill is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Mill
- Frenchton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Frenchton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchton
- Hoover Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Hoover Town is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover Town
- Sellers ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sellers is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
- Tenmile
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Tenmile is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
- Adrian
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Adrian is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adrian
- Queens
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Queens is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queens
- Barbour County
- The following are listed by their distance from Canaan, with the one closest to Canaan listed first.
- Audra
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Audra is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Audra
- Junior
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Junior is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junior
- Population from the 2020 Census: 483 people
- Clements ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Clements is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clements
- Wilmoth ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wilmoth is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmoth
- Belington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Tygart Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Tygart Junction is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tygart Junction
- Valley Bend
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Union
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Union is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Elk City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Elk City is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk City
- Calhoun
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Calhoun is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhoun
- Huffman ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Huffman is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Wellington Heights
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wellington Heights is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellington Heights
- Braxton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Canaan, with the one closest to Canaan listed first.
- Milroy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Milroy is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milroy
- Knawl
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Knawl is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knawl
- Falls Mill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Falls Mill is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mill
- Bulltown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Bulltown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulltown
- Corley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Corley is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Napier
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Napier is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napier
- Palmer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Palmer is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
- Orlando
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Orlando is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orlando
- Heaters
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Rollyson
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Rollyson is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollyson
- Flatwoods
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Burnsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- McNutt
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- McNutt is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNutt
- Gilmer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Canaan, with the one closest to Canaan listed first.
- Stouts Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Stouts Mills is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stouts Mills
- Sand Fork
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Fork is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Fork
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Truebada
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Truebada is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truebada
- Cedarville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Cedarville is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Baldwin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Baldwin is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Harrison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Canaan, with the one closest to Canaan listed first.
- McWhorter
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- McWhorter is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McWhorter
- Lost Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Lost Creek is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 462 people
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Canaan, with the one closest to Canaan listed first.
- Duffy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Duffy is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffy
- Crawford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Crawford is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Alkires Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Alkires Mills is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkires Mills
- Garton Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Garton Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garton Village
- Aberdeen
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Aberdeen is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberdeen
- Berlin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Berlin is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Cox Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cox Town is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox Town
- Weston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Smith Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Smith Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Village
- Jane Lew
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Camden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Camden is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
- Westfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Westfield is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
- Lightburn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Lightburn is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lightburn
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Canaan, with the one closest to Canaan listed first.
- Tioga
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Birch River
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pocahontas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Canaan, with the one closest to Canaan listed first.
- Slaty Fork
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Wildell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Wildell is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildell
- Durbin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Frank
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Frank is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frank
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Canaan, with the one closest to Canaan listed first.
- Helvetia
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Pickens
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Florence ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Florence is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Huff ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Huff is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huff
- Cassity
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cassity is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassity
- Lee Bell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Lee Bell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Bell
- Monterville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Huttonsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Mill Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Mill Creek is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 681 people
- Midvale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Midvale is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
- Blue Spring
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Blue Spring is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Spring
- Elkwater
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Elkwater is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkwater
- Valley Head
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Canaan, with the one closest to Canaan listed first.
- Cleveland
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hacker Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Replete
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Replete is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Replete
- Big Run
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Big Run is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Orndoff
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Orndoff is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orndoff
- Ralph
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Ralph is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ralph
- Addison
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Addison is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
- Erbacon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Erbacon is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erbacon
- Excelsior
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Excelsior is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Halo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Halo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halo
- Upperglade
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Upperglade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upperglade
- Cowen
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Welch Glade
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Welch Glade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch Glade
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Canaan, see our County-by-County Page for Canaan.
Cemeteries Near Canaan ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Canaan.
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 Canaan - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Canaan covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Canaan, with the one closest to Canaan listed first.
- Rice Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Gregory Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Dale Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ross Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Life Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Brooks Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Marple Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Helvetia Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Rock Cave Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Alton Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (245 more) ...
- Vance Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Old Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Pickens Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Canaan had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Canaan, with the one closest to Canaan listed first.
- Gaines
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Gaines is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaines
- Mayton ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Mayton is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayton
- Selbyville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Selbyville is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selbyville
- Holly Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Holly Grove is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Grove
- Kanawha Head
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Kanawha Head is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha Head
- Alexander
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Alexander is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- Arlington
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Arlington is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Cleveland
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Helvetia
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Rock Cave
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Rock Cave is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Cave
- Alton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Alton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Hacker Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Pickens
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Palace Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Palace Valley is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palace Valley
- Evergreen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Evergreen is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Canaan. See our List of 1890's Communities around Canaan.
Newspapers Published in Canaan ...
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 15 newspapers that have been published in the area around Canaan.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Canaan, 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 Canaan.
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 either 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 Canaan:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Upshur County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barbour County
- Braxton County
- Gilmer County
- Harrison County
- Lewis County
- Nicholas County
- Pocahontas County
- Randolph County
- Webster 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 Canaan, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Canaan) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |