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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 Decota (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 Decota. 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 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 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.

Decota is located in Kanawha 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 Kanawha County: Boone, Clay, Fayette, Jackson, Lincoln, Nicholas, Putnam, Raleigh & Roane.

Below are the counties that are near Decota. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Decota:

  • Kanawha County     (The home county of Decota)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decota, with the one closest to Decota listed first.
    • Carbon
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Carbon is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
    • Acme
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Acme is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
    • Eskdale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Eskdale is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskdale
    • Ronda
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Ronda is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ronda
    • Dry Branch
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
    • Handley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Handley is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
    • Cabin Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Cabin Creek is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabin Creek
    • Chelyan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Chelyan is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelyan
    • Hollygrove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Hollygrove is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollygrove
      • Hollygrove has also been known as:
      • Hollygrove Station
      • Hudnall
    • East Bank
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • East Bank is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bank
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
    • Glasgow
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Hugheston
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Hugheston is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugheston
    • Pratt
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Pratt is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decota, with the one closest to Decota listed first.
    • Whitesville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Whitesville is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 416 people
      • Former names for Whitesville:
      • Jarrods Valley
      • Pritchard City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitesville <1>
    • Elk Run Junction
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Elk Run Junction is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Run Junction
    • Janie
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Janie is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janie
      • Former name for Janie:
      • Mordue
    • Sylvester
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Keith
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Keith is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keith
    • Orgas
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Orgas is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orgas
    • Joes Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Joes Creek is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joes Creek
    • Coopertown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Coopertown is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopertown
    • Cabot
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Cabot is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabot
    • Milltown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Milltown is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
    • Fosterville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Fosterville is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosterville
    • Kirbyton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Kirbyton is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyton
    • Nelson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Nelson is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decota, with the one closest to Decota listed first.
    • Elkridge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Elkridge is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkridge
    • McDunn
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • McDunn is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDunn
    • Powellton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Powellton is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
    • Kimberly
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Kimberly is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimberly
    • Roseville ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Roseville is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
    • Wriston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Wriston is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wriston
    • Mount Carbon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Carbon is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carbon
    • Pax
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Pax is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pax
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
    • Crescent
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Crescent is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
    • Falls View
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Falls View is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls View
    • Montgomery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Smithers
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cannelton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Cannelton is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannelton
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decota, with the one closest to Decota listed first.
    • Alum Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Priestley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Priestley is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priestley
    • Sod
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Sod is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sod
    • Alkol
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Alkol is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkol
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decota, with the one closest to Decota listed first.
    • Sodom
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Sodom is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sodom
    • Braeholm
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Braeholm is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braeholm
    • Accoville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Accoville is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Accoville
    • Kistler
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Kistler is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
    • Mineral City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Mineral City is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
    • Mallory
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Mallory is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallory
    • Fort Branch
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Fort Branch is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Branch
  • Nicholas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decota, with the one closest to Decota listed first.
    • Beech Glen
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Beech Glen is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Glen
    • Dixie
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Dixie is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
    • Albion ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Albion is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
    • Tipton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Tipton is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
    • Keslers Cross Lanes
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
  • Raleigh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decota, with the one closest to Decota listed first.
    • Dorothy
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Dorothy is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorothy
    • Packsville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Packsville is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packsville
    • Montcoal
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Montcoal is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcoal
    • Stickney
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Stickney is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stickney
    • Naoma
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Naoma is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naoma
    • Rock Creek
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Rock Creek is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
    • Arnett
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Pineknob
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Pineknob is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineknob
    • Zada
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Zada is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zada
    • Redbird
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Redbird is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbird
    • Sweeneyburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Sweeneyburg is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweeneyburg
    • Fairdale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Fairdale is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
    • Bradley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Bradley is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decota, with the one closest to Decota listed first.
    • Kopperston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Kopperston is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kopperston
    • Oceana
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Keyrock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Keyrock is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyrock
    • Turkey
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Turkey is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey
    • Rock View
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Rock View is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock View
    • Mullens
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Pineville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Clear Fork
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Clear Fork is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Fork

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Decota, see our County-by-County Page for Decota.

Cemeteries Near Decota ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Decota.

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

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

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

  • Perry Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Sight Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Stanley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Sycamore Branch Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Union Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Union Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Dorothy
    • The Union Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Lawson Cemetery
  • Estep - Bailey Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Danville Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Hodge Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Stover Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Fulton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (538 more) ...
    • Mordue Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Moles Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Artie Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Decota 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 Decota, with the one closest to Decota listed first.

  • Acme
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Acme is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
  • Jarrolds Valley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jarrolds Valley is located in Raleigh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarrolds Valley
  • Powellton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Powellton is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
  • Clear Creek
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Clear Creek is located in Raleigh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Creek
  • Mossy
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Mossy is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mossy
  • Kincaid
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Kincaid is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kincaid
  • Roseville ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Roseville is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
  • Dry Branch
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
  • Dry Creek
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Dry Creek is located in Raleigh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Creek
  • Deep Water
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Deep Water is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Water
  • Mount Carbon
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Carbon is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carbon
  • Eagle
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Eagle is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Handley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Handley is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
    • Nelson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Nelson is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
    • Cirtsville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Cirtsville is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cirtsville

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

Newspapers Published in Decota ...

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 12 newspapers that have been published in the area around Decota.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Decota, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Decota.

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 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 Decota:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Decota) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Decota, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.