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 Crystal Springs (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 Crystal Springs. 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.
Name Variations for Crystal Springs ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Crystal Springs: Crystal Spgs. (or less commonly used: Crystal Spngs. or Crystal Sprngs.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Crystal Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Crystal Springs.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 doctors and hospitals 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.
Crystal Springs is located in Randolph 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 Randolph County: Barbour, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Tucker, Upshur & Webster.
Below are the counties that are near Crystal Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Crystal Springs:
- Randolph County (The home county of Crystal Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Springs, with the one closest to Crystal Springs listed first.
- Leadsville
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Leadsville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadsville
- Elkins
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Gilman
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Gilman is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilman
- Tigheville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Tigheville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tigheville
- Weaver
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Weaver is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Canfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Canfield is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Whyte
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Whyte is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whyte
- Womelsdorf
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Womelsdorf is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womelsdorf
- Population from the 2020 Census: 235 people
- Beverly
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Montrose
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Montrose is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
- Pettit ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pettit is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettit
- Cassity
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cassity is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassity
- Barbour County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Springs, with the one closest to Crystal Springs listed first.
- Junior
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Junior is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junior
- Population from the 2020 Census: 483 people
- Belington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wilmoth ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wilmoth is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmoth
- Huffman ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Huffman is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Valley Bend
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Clements ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Clements is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clements
- Calhoun
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Calhoun is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhoun
- Audra
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Audra is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Audra
- Kalamazoo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Kalamazoo is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalamazoo
- Vannoys Mill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Vannoys Mill is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vannoys Mill
- Union
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Union is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Tygart Junction
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Tygart Junction is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tygart Junction
- Harrison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Springs, with the one closest to Crystal Springs listed first.
- Craigmoor
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Craigmoor is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigmoor
- Lost Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lost Creek is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 462 people
- Quiet Dell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Quiet Dell is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quiet Dell
- McWhorter
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- McWhorter is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McWhorter
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Springs, with the one closest to Crystal Springs listed first.
- Aberdeen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Aberdeen is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberdeen
- Berlin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Berlin is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Garton Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Garton Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garton Village
- Alkires Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Alkires Mills is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkires Mills
- Crawford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Crawford is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Jane Lew
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Pendleton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Springs, with the one closest to Crystal Springs listed first.
- Onego
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Onego is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onego
- Macksville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Macksville is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macksville
- Circleville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Dry Run
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dry Run is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Run
- Pocahontas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Springs, with the one closest to Crystal Springs listed first.
- Wildell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Wildell is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildell
- Durbin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Frank
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Frank is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frank
- Thornwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Thornwood is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornwood
- Preston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Springs, with the one closest to Crystal Springs listed first.
- Macomber
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Macomber is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macomber
- Sell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sell is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sell
- Horse Shoe Run
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Horse Shoe Run is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Shoe Run
- Newburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Rowlesburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Taylor County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Springs, with the one closest to Crystal Springs listed first.
- Sandy ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Sandy is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
- Stone House ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Stone House is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone House
- Webster
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Webster is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Yates ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Yates is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates
- Astor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Astor is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astor
- Brydon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Brydon is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brydon
- Knottsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Knottsville is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knottsville
- Flemington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Flemington is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flemington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
- Grafton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Thornton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Thornton is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
- West Grafton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- West Grafton is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Grafton
- Fetterman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Fetterman is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fetterman
- Tucker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Springs, with the one closest to Crystal Springs listed first.
- Pleasant Run
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Run is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Run
- Porterwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Porterwood is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porterwood
- Hambleton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hambleton is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hambleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
- Parsons
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hendricks
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hendricks is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendricks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
- Gladwin
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Gladwin is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladwin
- Elk
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Elk is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk
- Canaan Valley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Coketon
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Coketon is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coketon
- Thomas
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Davis
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pierce
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pierce is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce
- Upshur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Springs, with the one closest to Crystal Springs listed first.
- Swamp Run
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Swamp Run is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swamp Run
- Gormley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Gormley is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gormley
- Sand Run
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Sand Run is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Run
- Excelsior
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Excelsior is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Overhill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Overhill is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overhill
- Queens
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Queens is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queens
- Tallmansville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Teter
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Teter is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teter
- Reger
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Reger is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reger
- Sellers ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Sellers is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
- Tenmile
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Tenmile is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
- Beans Mill
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Beans Mill is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Mill
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Crystal Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Crystal Springs.
Cemeteries Near Crystal Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Crystal Springs.
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 Crystal Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Crystal Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Crystal Springs, with the one closest to Crystal Springs listed first.
- Maplewood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Little Arlington Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Arlington Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Little Arlington Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Leadsville.
- The Little Arlington Cemetery has also been known as:
- American Legion Little Arlington Cemetery
- St. Brendens Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain State Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- IOOF Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for IOOF Cemetery
- The IOOF Cemetery has also been known as:
- Elkins Memorial Gardens
- Odd Fellows Cemetery
- Coffman Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Coffman / Harding Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Beverly Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mt. Iser Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Old Rights Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Elliott Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (177 more) ...
- Stalnaker Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Durrett Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Leading Creek Primitive Baptist Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
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>
While we didn't find Crystal Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Crystal Springs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Crystal Springs, with the one closest to Crystal Springs listed first.
- Elkins
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Leadsville
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Leadsville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadsville
- Gilman
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Gilman is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilman
- Whyte
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Whyte is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whyte
- Beverly
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Belington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kerens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kerens is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerens
- Talbott
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Talbott is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talbott
- Faulkner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Faulkner is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faulkner
- Wilmoth ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wilmoth is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmoth
- Kingsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Kingsville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsville
- Huffman ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Huffman is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Flora ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Flora is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flora
- Montrose
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Montrose is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
- Pettit ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pettit is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettit
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Crystal Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Crystal Springs.
Newspapers Published in Crystal Springs ...
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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Crystal Springs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Crystal Springs, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Crystal Springs.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Crystal Springs:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Randolph County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barbour County
- Harrison County
- Lewis County
- Pendleton County
- Pocahontas County
- Preston County
- Taylor County
- Tucker County
- Upshur 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 Crystal Springs, 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 from Point A (ie- Crystal Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |