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Home >> State of West Virginia >> McDowell County >> Caretta >> 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 Caretta (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 Caretta. 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.

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

  • McDowell County     (The home county of Caretta)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Caretta, with the one closest to Caretta listed first.
    • Yukon
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Yukon is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yukon
    • War
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • War is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
    • Newhall
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Newhall is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhall
    • Gary
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Gary is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
    • Peapatch
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Peapatch is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
    • Bradshaw
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Big Sandy
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Big Sandy is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Sandy
    • Roderfield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Roderfield is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roderfield
    • Welch
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Avondale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Avondale is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale
    • Height
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Height is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
    • Big Four
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Big Four is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Four
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Caretta, with the one closest to Caretta listed first.
    • Wylo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Wylo is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wylo
    • Mallory
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Mallory is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallory
    • Mineral City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Mineral City is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
    • Kistler
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Kistler is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
    • Man
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • 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 Caretta, with the one closest to Caretta listed first.
    • Coaldale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Coaldale is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
    • Bramwell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Coopers
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Coopers is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
    • Freeman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Freeman is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
    • Nemours
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Yards
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Yards is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
    • Flipping
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Flipping is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
    • Montcalm
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Montcalm is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcalm
    • Weyanoke
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Weyanoke is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyanoke
    • Matoaka
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Matoaka is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaka
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
    • Bluefield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Littlesburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Littlesburg is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
  • Mingo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Caretta, with the one closest to Caretta listed first.
    • Gilbert Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Gilbert Creek is located in Mingo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert Creek
    • Baisden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Gilbert
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Wharncliffe
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Pie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Pie is located in Mingo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pie
    • Thacker
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Thacker is located in Mingo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thacker
  • Raleigh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Caretta, with the one closest to Caretta listed first.
    • Rhodell
      (27 miles [43.5 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
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Helen is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen
    • Eastgulf
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Eastgulf is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastgulf
    • Ury
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Ury is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ury
    • Slab Fork
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Slab Fork is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab Fork
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Caretta, with the one closest to Caretta listed first.
    • Woosley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Woosley is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woosley
    • Fanny
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Fanny is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanny
    • Stoneville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Stoneville is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneville
    • Baileysville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Baileysville is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileysville
    • Mullensville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Mullensville is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullensville
    • Wyoming
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Wyoming is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
    • Pineville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Sun Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Sun Hill is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Hill
    • Clear Fork
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Clear Fork is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Fork
    • Cub City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Cub City is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cub City
    • Rock View
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Rock View is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock View
    • Uno
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Uno is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uno
  • Pike County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Caretta, with the one closest to Caretta listed first.
    • Paw Paw
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Paw Paw is located in Pike County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paw Paw
    • Stopover
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Stopover is located in Pike County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stopover
    • Majestic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Majestic is located in Pike County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Majestic
    • Phelps
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Coleman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Coleman is located in Pike County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
    • Freeburn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Freeburn is located in Pike County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeburn
  • Buchanan County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Caretta, with the one closest to Caretta listed first.
    • Bearwallow
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Bearwallow is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
    • Peapatch
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Peapatch is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
    • Height
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Height is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
    • Jackson Flats
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jackson Flats is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
    • Paynesville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Paynesville is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
    • Matney
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Matney is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matney
    • Mavisdale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Mavisdale is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mavisdale
    • Janey
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Janey is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janey
    • Kelsa
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Kelsa is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsa
    • Grundy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Grundy is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grundy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 883 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grundy <1>
    • Rowe
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Rowe is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe
    • Royal City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Royal City is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal City
  • Russell County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Caretta, with the one closest to Caretta listed first.
    • Dye
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Dye is located in Russell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dye
    • Russell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Russell is located in Russell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
    • Honaker
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Honaker is located in Russell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honaker
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,322 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Honaker <1>
  • Smyth County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Caretta, with the one closest to Caretta listed first.
    • Broadford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Broadford is located in Smyth County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
    • Ellendale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Ellendale is located in Smyth County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
    • Cardwell Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Cardwell Town is located in Smyth County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardwell Town
  • Tazewell County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Caretta, with the one closest to Caretta listed first.
    • Sayersville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Sayersville is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayersville
    • Bishop
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bishop is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
    • Dunford Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Dunford Village is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunford Village
    • Shraders
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Shraders is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shraders
    • Harman
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Harman is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harman
    • Abbs Valley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Abbs Valley is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
    • Adria
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Adria is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adria
    • Pisgah
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Pisgah is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
    • Wittens Mills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
    • Boissevain
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Boissevain is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boissevain
    • Maxwell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Maxwell is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
    • Five Oaks
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • 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 Caretta, see our County-by-County Page for Caretta.

Cemeteries Near Caretta ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Caretta.

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

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

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

  • Lomax Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Deskins Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Hagerman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Riffe Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Atwell Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Rose Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Sparks Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Altizer Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Altizer Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Blevins Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Puckett Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Rowe Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (588 more) ...
    • Knob Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Knob Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Knob Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)

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

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

  • Bearwallow
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Bearwallow is located in Buchanan County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
  • Bradshaw
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Sayersville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Sayersville is located in Tazewell County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayersville
  • Pleasant Hill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Hill is located in Tazewell County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
  • Shraders
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Shraders is located in Tazewell County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shraders
  • Iaeger
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Iaeger is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iaeger
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 232 people
  • Harman
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Harman is located in Tazewell County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harman
  • Gap Store
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Gap Store is located in Tazewell County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gap Store
  • Elkhorn
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Elkhorn is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
  • Powhatan
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Powhatan is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
  • Kyle
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Kyle is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
  • Algoma
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Algoma is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algoma
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Pisgah
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Pisgah is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
    • Wittens Mills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
    • Switchback
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Switchback is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Switchback

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

Newspapers Published in Caretta ...

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 Caretta.

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

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 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 Caretta:

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 Caretta, 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 from Point A (ie- Caretta) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.