Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Defoe. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Defoe to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Defoe, please Contact Us.
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 Defoe (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 Defoe. 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 and doctors 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Defoe is historic, it would have been located within present day Webster 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 Webster County: Braxton, Greenbrier, Lewis, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Randolph & Upshur.
Below are the counties that are near Defoe. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Defoe:
- Webster County (The home county of Defoe)
- The following are listed by their distance from Defoe, with the one closest to Defoe listed first.
- Erbacon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Erbacon is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erbacon
- Big Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Big Run is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Halo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Halo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halo
- Orndoff
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Orndoff is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orndoff
- Excelsior
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Excelsior is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Cowen
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Upperglade
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Upperglade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upperglade
- Welch Glade
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Welch Glade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch Glade
- Addison
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Addison is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
- Hacker Valley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Replete
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Replete is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Replete
- Camden-on-Gauley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Camden-on-Gauley is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden-on-Gauley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Ralph
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ralph is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ralph
- Braxton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Defoe, with the one closest to Defoe listed first.
- Palmer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Palmer is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
- Little Birch
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Little Birch is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Birch
- Sutton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Canfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Canfield is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- McNutt
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- McNutt is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNutt
- Flatwoods
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Herold
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Herold is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herold
- Corley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Corley is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Milroy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Milroy is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milroy
- Gassaway
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Twistville ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Twistville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twistville
- Lloydsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lloydsville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydsville
- Falls Mill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Falls Mill is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mill
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Defoe, with the one closest to Defoe listed first.
- Losie ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Losie is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Losie
- Mudfork
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Mudfork is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudfork
- Stinson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Stinson is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Walnut
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Walnut is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Gomez ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Gomez is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gomez
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Defoe, with the one closest to Defoe listed first.
- Wattsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Wattsville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Widen
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Widen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widen
- Harrison
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Ira
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Swandale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Swandale is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swandale
- Gould
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Lydia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Lydia is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lydia
- Dink
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Dink is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dink
- Spread
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Spread is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
- Clay
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Hartland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Hartland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Valley Fork
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Gilmer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Defoe, with the one closest to Defoe listed first.
- Cedarville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cedarville is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Stouts Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Stouts Mills is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stouts Mills
- Sand Fork
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Sand Fork is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Fork
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Shock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Shock is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shock
- Truebada
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Truebada is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truebada
- Normantown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Baldwin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Baldwin is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Glenville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stumptown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stumptown is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stumptown
- Greenbrier County
- The following are listed by their distance from Defoe, with the one closest to Defoe listed first.
- Lile
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lile is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lile
- Brushy Junction ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Brushy Junction is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Junction
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Defoe, with the one closest to Defoe listed first.
- Duffy
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Duffy is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffy
- Crawford
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Crawford is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Alkires Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Alkires Mills is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkires Mills
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Defoe, with the one closest to Defoe listed first.
- Tioga
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Birch River
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Beaver
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Beaver is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Craigsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Muddlety
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Muddlety is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddlety
- Donald
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Donald is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
- Richwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Nettie
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Saxman
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Saxman is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxman
- Summersville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Tolbert
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Tolbert is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolbert
- Odell Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Odell Town is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odell Town
- Odell Town has also been known as:
- Odell
- Zela
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Zela is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
- Pocahontas County
- Slaty Fork
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Defoe, with the one closest to Defoe listed first.
- Florence ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Florence is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Pickens
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Helvetia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Blue Spring
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Blue Spring is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Spring
- Monterville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Mingo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Valley Head
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Upshur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Defoe, with the one closest to Defoe listed first.
- Goshen
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Goshen is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Kanawha Head
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Kanawha Head is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha Head
- Wilsontown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wilsontown is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsontown
- Rock Cave
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Cave is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Cave
- Alexander
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Alexander is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- Frenchton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Frenchton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchton
- Alton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Alton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Hoover Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hoover Town is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover Town
- Beans Mill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Beans Mill is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Mill
- Abbott
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Abbott is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- Adrian
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Adrian is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adrian
- Sellers ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sellers is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
- Tenmile
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Tenmile is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Defoe, see our County-by-County Page for Defoe.
Cemeteries Near Defoe ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Defoe.
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 Defoe - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Defoe covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Defoe, with the one closest to Defoe listed first.
- Sunset Memorial Park
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- McCourt - Cogar Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- McElwain Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Green Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Centralia Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Columbus McCourt Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Clifton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Harris Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Barnett Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Boggs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Holly River Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Big Run Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (260 more) ...
- Baker Ridge Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hoover Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Elizabeth Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
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.
While we didn't find Defoe in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Defoe.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Defoe, with the one closest to Defoe listed first.
- Boggs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Boggs is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boggs
- Diana
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Diana is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diana
- Bakers Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Bakers Run is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakers Run
- Halo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Halo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halo
- Little Birch
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Little Birch is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Birch
- Newville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Newville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
- Birch River
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Welch Glade
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Welch Glade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch Glade
- Upperglade
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Upperglade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upperglade
- Addison
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Addison is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
- Jumbo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Jumbo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumbo
- Caress
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Caress is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caress
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Sutton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Canfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Canfield is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Strouds
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Strouds is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strouds
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Defoe. See our List of 1890's Communities around Defoe.
Newspapers Published in Defoe ...
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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Defoe.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Defoe, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Defoe.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Defoe:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Webster County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Braxton County
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Gilmer County
- Greenbrier County
- Lewis County
- Nicholas County
- Pocahontas County
- Randolph County
- Upshur County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for West Virginia
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Defoe, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Defoe) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |