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 Douglas (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 Douglas. 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.
Douglas is located in Calhoun 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 Calhoun County: Braxton, Clay, Gilmer, Ritchie, Roane & Wirt.
Below are the counties that are near Douglas. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Douglas:
- Calhoun County (The home county of Douglas)
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Losie ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Losie is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Losie
- Walnut
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Walnut is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Stinson
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Stinson is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Mudfork
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mudfork is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudfork
- Gomez ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Gomez is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gomez
- Oka
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Oka is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oka
- Orma
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Orma is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orma
- Arnoldsburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Arnoldsburg is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnoldsburg
- Beech
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Beech is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech
- Pink
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pink is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pink
- Russet
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Russet is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russet
- Staten
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Staten is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staten
- Braxton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Elmira
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Elmira is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
- Sleith ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Sleith is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleith
- Clem
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Clem is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clem
- Wilsie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Wilsie is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsie
- Frametown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Frametown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frametown
- Rockton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Rockton is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockton
- Progress ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Progress is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progress
- Strange Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Strange Creek is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strange Creek
- Twistville ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Twistville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twistville
- Chapel
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Chapel is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel
- Gassaway
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Herold
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Herold is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herold
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Lydia
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Lydia is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lydia
- Dink
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Dink is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dink
- Gould
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Ira
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Valley Fork
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Spread
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Spread is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
- Harrison
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Clay
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Procious
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Procious is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Procious
- Elkhurst
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Elkhurst is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
- Hartland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Hartland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Porter
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Porter is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Gilmer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Shock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Shock is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shock
- Stumptown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Stumptown is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stumptown
- Normantown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cedarville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cedarville is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- De Kalb
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- De Kalb is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Kalb
- Glenville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sand Fork
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Sand Fork is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Fork
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Stouts Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Stouts Mills is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stouts Mills
- Truebada
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Truebada is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truebada
- Alice
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Alice is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
- Baldwin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Baldwin is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Newberne
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Newberne is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newberne
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Fletcher
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Fletcher is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
- Kentuck
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Kentuck is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Liverpool
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Liverpool is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liverpool
- Aplin ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Aplin is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aplin
- Romance
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Romance is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romance
- Kanawha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Wellford
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Wellford is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellford
- Clendenin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Apgah ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Apgah is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apgah
- Reamer
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Reamer is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reamer
- Falling Rock
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Falling Rock is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Rock
- Youngs Bottom
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Youngs Bottom is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngs Bottom
- Coco
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Coco is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coco
- Three Mile
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Three Mile is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Mile
- Island Branch
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Island Branch is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Branch
- Elkview
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wills is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wills
- Aarons
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Aarons is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aarons
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Birch River
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Muddlety
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Muddlety is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddlety
- Zela
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Zela is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
- Tioga
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Tipton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Tipton is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Dixie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Dixie is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Summersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Keslers Cross Lanes
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
- Ritchie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Burnt House
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Burnt House is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt House
- Smithville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Smithville is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithville
- Lawford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Lawford is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawford
- Oxbow
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Oxbow is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxbow
- Roane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Roxalana
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Roxalana is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxalana
- Pigeon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pigeon is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Graux
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Graux is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graux
- Kester ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Kester is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kester
- Looneyville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Rushville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Rushville is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushville
- Triplett
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Triplett is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triplett
- Spencer
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Walton
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Millard
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Millard is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millard
- Zona
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Zona is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zona
- Mattie ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Mattie is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattie
- Webster County
- Erbacon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Erbacon is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erbacon
- Wirt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Creston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Creston is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creston
- Burning Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Burning Springs is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burning Springs
- Lucile
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lucile is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucile
- Peewee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Peewee is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peewee
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Douglas, see our County-by-County Page for Douglas.
Cemeteries Near Douglas ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Douglas.
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 Douglas - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Douglas covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Moss Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Lamb Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Hicks Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Morris Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Matheny Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Walnut Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- McCune Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Hicks Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Coen Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Bailey - Siers Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Mollohan / Cooper Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Beech Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (574 more) ...
- King Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mollohan Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cooper Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 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.<2>
While we didn't find Douglas in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Douglas.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Stinson
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Stinson is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Lydia
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Lydia is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lydia
- Elmira
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Elmira is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
- Minnora
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Minnora is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnora
- Oka
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Oka is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oka
- Sleith ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Sleith is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleith
- Rosedale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rosedale is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
- Newton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Newton is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
- Arnoldsburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Arnoldsburg is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnoldsburg
- Beech
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Beech is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech
- Linden
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Linden is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
- Gould
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Continue List (22 more) ...
- Ira
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Valley Fork
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Frametown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Frametown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frametown
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Douglas. See our List of 1890's Communities around Douglas.
Newspapers Published in Douglas ...
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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Douglas.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Douglas, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Douglas.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Douglas:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Calhoun County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Braxton County
- Clay County
- Gilmer County
- Jackson County
- Kanawha County
- Nicholas County
- Ritchie County
- Roane County
- Webster County
- Wirt 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> | 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 Douglas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Douglas) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |