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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 Dorcas (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 Dorcas. 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 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.

Dorcas is located in Grant County.

To see how the shape of West Virginia's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Grant County: Garrett (MD), Hardy, Mineral, Pendleton & Tucker.

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

  • Grant County     (The home county of Dorcas)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dorcas, with the one closest to Dorcas listed first.
    • Petersburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Pansy
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pansy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pansy
      • Pansy is located in Grant County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pansy
      • From Dorcas to Pansy
    • Seemly ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seemly have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seemly
      • Seemly is located in Grant County
    • Seymourville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Arthur
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Hopeville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hopeville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeville
      • Hopeville is located in Grant County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hopeville
      • From Dorcas to Hopeville
    • Maysville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Maysville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
      • Maysville is located in Grant County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Maysville
      • From Dorcas to Maysville
    • Lahmansville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Medley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Greenland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Bayard
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Dobbin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dobbin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobbin
      • Dobbin is located in Grant County
    • Wilson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wilson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
      • Wilson is located in Grant County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wilson
      • From Dorcas to Wilson
  • Hampshire County
  • Hardy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dorcas, with the one closest to Dorcas listed first.
    • Durgon
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Durgon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durgon
      • Durgon is located in Hardy County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Durgon
      • From Dorcas to Durgon
    • Peru
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Peru. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
      • Peru is located in Hardy County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Peru
      • From Dorcas to Peru
    • Moorefield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mathias
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Fort Run
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Lost City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lost City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost City
      • Lost City is located in Hardy County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lost City <1>
    • Baker
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Inkerman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Inkerman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inkerman
      • Inkerman is located in Hardy County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Inkerman
      • From Dorcas to Inkerman
    • Wardensville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Mineral County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dorcas, with the one closest to Dorcas listed first.
    • Hartmansville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Schell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Schell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
      • Schell is located in Mineral County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Schell
      • From Dorcas to Schell
    • Sulphur City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sulphur City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur City
      • Sulphur City is located in Mineral County
    • Burlington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Elk Garden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elk Garden have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Garden
      • Elk Garden is located in Mineral County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elk Garden <1>
    • Harrison
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Harrison. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
      • Harrison is located in Mineral County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Harrison
      • From Dorcas to Harrison
    • New Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Pendleton County
  • Randolph County
  • Tucker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dorcas, with the one closest to Dorcas listed first.
    • Canaan Valley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Davis
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Elk
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elk. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk
      • Elk is located in Tucker County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elk
      • From Dorcas to Elk
    • Gladwin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Coketon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Coketon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coketon
      • Coketon is located in Tucker County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Coketon
      • From Dorcas to Coketon
    • Thomas
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomas have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
      • Thomas is located in Tucker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 545 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thomas <1>
    • Pierce
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hendricks
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hendricks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendricks
      • Hendricks is located in Tucker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
    • Hambleton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Garrett County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dorcas, with the one closest to Dorcas listed first.
    • Wilson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wilson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
      • Wilson is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wilson
      • From Dorcas to Wilson
    • Schell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Schell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
      • Schell is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Schell
      • From Dorcas to Schell
  • Rockingham County (VA)
  • Shenandoah County (VA)

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

Cemeteries Near Dorcas ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dorcas.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

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.<5>

While we didn't find Dorcas in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Dorcas.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Dorcas, with the one closest to Dorcas listed first.

  • Masonville
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Masonville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masonville
    • Masonville is located in Grant County
  • Pansy
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pansy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pansy
    • Pansy is located in Grant County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Pansy
    • From Dorcas to Pansy
  • Petersburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Seemly ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seemly have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seemly
    • Seemly is located in Grant County
  • Peru
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Peru. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
    • Peru is located in Hardy County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Peru
    • From Dorcas to Peru
  • Seymourville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Arthur
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Hopeville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hopeville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeville
    • Hopeville is located in Grant County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Hopeville
    • From Dorcas to Hopeville
  • Brushy Run
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Jordan Run
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jordan Run have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan Run
    • Jordan Run is located in Grant County
  • Moorefield
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Kline
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kline. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kline
    • Kline is located in Pendleton County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Kline
    • From Dorcas to Kline
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Dorcas ...

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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dorcas.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dorcas, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dorcas.

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 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 Dorcas:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Dorcas. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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.
<5>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 Dorcas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Dorcas) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dorcas. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.9390, Longitude: -79.1060    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025