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 Cortland (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 Cortland. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.
Cortland is located in Tucker 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 Tucker County: Barbour, Grant, Preston & Randolph.
Below are the counties that are near Cortland. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Cortland:
- Tucker County (The home county of Cortland)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
- Canaan Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Davis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Coketon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Coketon is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coketon
- Thomas
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Elk
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Elk is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk
- Gladwin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gladwin is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladwin
- Pierce
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pierce is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce
- Hendricks
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Hendricks is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendricks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
- Hambleton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Hambleton is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hambleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
- Parsons
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Porterwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Porterwood is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porterwood
- Pleasant Run
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Run is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Run
- Barbour County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
- Valley Furnace
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Valley Furnace is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Furnace
- Kasson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Kasson is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kasson
- Huffman ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Huffman is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Kalamazoo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Kalamazoo is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalamazoo
- Belington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Junior
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Junior is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junior
- Population from the 2020 Census: 483 people
- Vannoys Mill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Vannoys Mill is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vannoys Mill
- Calhoun
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Calhoun is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhoun
- Valley Bend
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Wilmoth ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Wilmoth is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmoth
- Grant County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
- Hopeville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hopeville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeville
- Dobbin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Dobbin is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobbin
- Wilson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Wilson is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Maysville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Maysville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
- Bayard
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Bayard is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Arthur
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Arthur is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
- Petersburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Pansy
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pansy is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pansy
- Seymourville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Seymourville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymourville
- Greenland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Greenland is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
- Lahmansville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Lahmansville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lahmansville
- Dorcas
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dorcas is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorcas
- Seemly ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Seemly is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seemly
- Hardy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
- Durgon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Durgon is located in Hardy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durgon
- Moorefield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Peru
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Peru is located in Hardy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
- Fort Run
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Fort Run is located in Hardy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Run
- Mineral County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
- Schell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Schell is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
- Hartmansville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hartmansville is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartmansville
- Harrison
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Harrison is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Sulphur City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sulphur City is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur City
- Elk Garden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Shaw
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Shaw is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
- New Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pendleton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
- Onego
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Onego is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onego
- Ketterman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ketterman is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ketterman
- Macksville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Macksville is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macksville
- Brushy Run
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Brushy Run is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Run
- Kline
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kline is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kline
- Ruddle
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ruddle is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruddle
- Circleville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Fort Seybert
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Seybert is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Seybert
- Franklin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Pocahontas County
- Wildell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wildell is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildell
- Preston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
- Horse Shoe Run
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Horse Shoe Run is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Shoe Run
- Sell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sell is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sell
- Aurora
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Carmel
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Carmel is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel
- Macomber
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Macomber is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macomber
- Rowlesburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Salt Lick
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Salt Lick is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Lick
- Terra Alta
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Heathers Run
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Heathers Run is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heathers Run
- Tunnelton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
- Dryfork
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Harperton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Harperton is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harperton
- Harman
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wymer
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wymer is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wymer
- Pettit ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Pettit is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettit
- Evenwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Evenwood is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evenwood
- Whitmer
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Whitmer is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitmer
- Montrose
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Montrose is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
- Whyte
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Whyte is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whyte
- Canfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Canfield is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Gilman
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Gilman is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilman
- Elkins
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Leadsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Leadsville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadsville
- Garrett County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
- Wilson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Wilson is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Fort Pendleton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Fort Pendleton is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Pendleton
- Red House
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Red House is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red House
- Schell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Schell is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
- Loch Lynn Heights
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Loch Lynn Heights is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loch Lynn Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 525 people
- Mountain Lake Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Mountain Lake Park is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,065 people
- Oakland
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Oakland is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,803 people
- Hutton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Hutton is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
- Deer Park
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Kitzmiller
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Altamont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Altamont is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
- Swanton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Cortland, see our County-by-County Page for Cortland.
Cemeteries Near Cortland ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cortland.
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 Cortland - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Cortland covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
- Cortland Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Buena Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Flanagan Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Flanagan Memorial Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Thomas Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Teter Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Knotts Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fansler Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Kight Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Collett Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Goff Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (143 more) ...
- McNeely Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Kerns Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Hebron Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Cortland had a population of 26 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Cortland, with the one closest to Cortland listed first.
- Davis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Thomas
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Coketon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Coketon is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coketon
- Dryfork
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- William
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- William is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for William
- Jordan Run
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Jordan Run is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan Run
- Wilsonia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Wilsonia is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonia
- Hopeville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hopeville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeville
- Hendricks
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Hendricks is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendricks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
- Dobbin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Dobbin is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobbin
- Wilson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Wilson is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Lead Mine
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lead Mine is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lead Mine
- Continue List (21 more) ...
- Bretz
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Bretz is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bretz
- Wilson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Wilson is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Parsons
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Cortland. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cortland.
Newspapers Published in Cortland ...
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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cortland.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cortland, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cortland.
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 Cortland:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Tucker County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barbour County
- Grant County
- Hardy County
- Mineral County
- Pendleton County
- Pocahontas County
- Preston County
- Randolph County
- Garrett 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> | 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 Cortland, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Cortland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |