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 Dayton (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 Dayton. 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 southwest 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 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.
Dayton is located in Preston 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 Preston County: Garrett (MD), Fayette (PA), Barbour, Grant, Monongalia, Taylor & Tucker.
Below are the counties that are near Dayton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dayton:
- Preston County (The home county of Dayton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
- Aurora
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Carmel
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Carmel is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel
- Sell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Sell is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sell
- Horse Shoe Run
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Horse Shoe Run is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Shoe Run
- Salt Lick
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Salt Lick is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Lick
- Rowlesburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Macomber
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Macomber is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macomber
- Terra Alta
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Heathers Run
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Heathers Run is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heathers Run
- Tunnelton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Albright
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Kingwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Barbour County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
- Kasson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Kasson is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kasson
- Valley Furnace
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Valley Furnace is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Furnace
- Kalamazoo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Kalamazoo is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalamazoo
- Clemtown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Clemtown is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemtown
- Arden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Arden is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arden
- Vannoys Mill
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Vannoys Mill is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vannoys Mill
- Pleasant Creek ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Creek is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Creek
- Huffman ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Huffman is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Meriden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Meriden is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meriden
- Calhoun
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Calhoun is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhoun
- Philippi
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Valley Bend
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Grant County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
- Wilson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Wilson is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Dobbin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dobbin is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobbin
- Bayard
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Bayard is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Greenland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Greenland is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
- Maysville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Maysville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
- Hopeville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hopeville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeville
- Medley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lahmansville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lahmansville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lahmansville
- Arthur
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Arthur is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
- Neel ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Neel is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neel
- Hebron
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Hebron is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Samaria
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Samaria is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
- Canton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Canton is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Hammond
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Hammond is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
- Mount Harmony
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Harmony is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Harmony
- Colfax
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Colfax is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colfax
- Mineral County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
- Schell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Schell is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
- Harrison
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Harrison is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Elk Garden
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Hartmansville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Hartmansville is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartmansville
- Sulphur City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Sulphur City is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur City
- Shaw
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Shaw is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
- Windom ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Windom is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
- New Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Monongalia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
- Brookhaven
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Brookhaven is located in Monongalia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
- Little Falls
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Little Falls is located in Monongalia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Falls
- Cheat Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
- Smithtown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Smithtown is located in Monongalia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithtown
- Canyon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Canyon is located in Monongalia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Morgantown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Laurel Point
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Laurel Point is located in Monongalia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Point
- Westover
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
- Montrose
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Montrose is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
- Pettit ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Pettit is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettit
- Dryfork
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Whyte
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Whyte is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whyte
- Harman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Gilman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gilman is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilman
- Evenwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Evenwood is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evenwood
- Harperton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Harperton is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harperton
- Canfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Canfield is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Leadsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Leadsville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadsville
- Tigheville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Tigheville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tigheville
- Weaver
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Weaver is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Taylor County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
- Thornton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Thornton is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
- Knottsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Knottsville is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knottsville
- Sandy ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Sandy is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
- Stone House ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Stone House is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone House
- Grafton
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- West Grafton
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- West Grafton is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Grafton
- Yates ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Yates is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates
- Fetterman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Fetterman is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fetterman
- Webster
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Webster is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Brydon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Brydon is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brydon
- Pruntytown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Pruntytown is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pruntytown
- Flemington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Flemington is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flemington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
- Tucker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
- Pierce
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pierce is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce
- Coketon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Coketon is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coketon
- Thomas
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Davis
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Parsons
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Hambleton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Hambleton is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hambleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
- Hendricks
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Hendricks is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendricks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
- Porterwood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Porterwood is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porterwood
- Pleasant Run
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Run is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Run
- Elk
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Elk is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk
- Canaan Valley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Gladwin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Gladwin is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladwin
- Allegany County (MD)
- Luke
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Luke is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luke
- Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
- Garrett County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
- Red House
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Red House is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red House
- Hutton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hutton is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
- Wilson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Wilson is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Fort Pendleton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Fort Pendleton is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Pendleton
- Oakland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Oakland is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,803 people
- Loch Lynn Heights
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- 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
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- 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
- Deer Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Schell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Schell is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
- Altamont
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Altamont is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
- McHenry
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Swanton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fayette County (PA)
- Markleysburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Dayton, see our County-by-County Page for Dayton.
Cemeteries Near Dayton ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dayton.
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 Dayton - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Dayton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
- Beachy Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Belleview Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Accident Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Deakins Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Maple Spring Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Riverview Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gnegy Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Fike / Wolfe Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Nine Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Sanders Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Burns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Watkins Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (232 more) ...
- Limestone Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Kight 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.<3>
While we didn't find Dayton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Dayton.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
- Aurora
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Carmel
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Carmel is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel
- Sell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Sell is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sell
- Eglon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Eglon is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eglon
- Brookside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Brookside is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
- Horse Shoe Run
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Horse Shoe Run is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Shoe Run
- Amblersburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Amblersburg is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amblersburg
- Rowlesburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Macomber
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Macomber is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macomber
- Etam
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Etam is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etam
- Sunnyside
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Sunnyside is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
- Hannahsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hannahsville is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hannahsville
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Lead Mine
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Lead Mine is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lead Mine
- Skipnish ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Skipnish is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skipnish
- Hutton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hutton is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Dayton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dayton.
Newspapers Published in Dayton ...
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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dayton.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dayton, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dayton.
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 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 Dayton:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Preston County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barbour County
- Grant County
- Marion County
- Mineral County
- Monongalia County
- Randolph County
- Taylor County
- Tucker County
- Allegany County
- Garrett County
- Fayette 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 Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MIHP (for the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties). More information about the MHT and MIHP can be found on their website: mht.maryland.gov. |
| <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 Dayton, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Dayton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |