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 Drennen (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 Drennen. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
Drennen is located in Nicholas 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 Nicholas County: Braxton, Clay, Fayette, Greenbrier, Kanawha & Webster.
Below are the counties that are near Drennen. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Drennen:
- Nicholas County (The home county of Drennen)
- The following are listed by their distance from Drennen, with the one closest to Drennen listed first.
- Tipton
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Tipton is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Zela
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Zela is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
- Albion ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Albion is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Keslers Cross Lanes
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
- Morrison ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Morrison is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
- Summersville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Beech Glen
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Beech Glen is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Glen
- Dixie
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Dixie is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Muddlety
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Muddlety is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddlety
- Runa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Runa is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runa
- Donald
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Donald is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
- Snow Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Snow Hill is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Odell Town
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Odell Town is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odell Town
- Odell Town has also been known as:
- Odell
- Braxton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Drennen, with the one closest to Drennen listed first.
- Strange Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Strange Creek is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strange Creek
- Herold
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Herold is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herold
- Clem
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Clem is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clem
- Rockton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Rockton is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockton
- Twistville ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Twistville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twistville
- Canfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Canfield is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Elmira
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Elmira is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
- Frametown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Frametown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frametown
- Little Birch
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Little Birch is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Birch
- Sleith ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Sleith is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleith
- Wilsie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Wilsie is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsie
- Gassaway
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Drennen, with the one closest to Drennen listed first.
- Mudfork
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Mudfork is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudfork
- Stinson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Stinson is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Losie ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Losie is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Losie
- Oka
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Oka is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oka
- Walnut
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Walnut is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Drennen, with the one closest to Drennen listed first.
- Hartland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hartland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Clay
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Elkhurst
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Elkhurst is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
- Widen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Widen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widen
- Harrison
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Spread
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Spread is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
- Gould
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Wattsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wattsville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Bomont
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bomont is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bomont
- Valley Fork
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Procious
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Procious is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Procious
- Dink
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Dink is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dink
- Ira
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Drennen, with the one closest to Drennen listed first.
- Leander
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Leander is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
- Elliot ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Elliot is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot
- Clifty
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Clifty is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifty
- Mulvane ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Mulvane is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulvane
- Romont
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Romont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romont
- Ansted
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Victor
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Victor is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victor
- Grayden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Grayden is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayden
- Hawks Nest
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hawks Nest is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawks Nest
- Gauley Bridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fayette
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Fayette is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
- Beckwith
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cotton Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cotton Hill is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Hill
- Greenbrier County
- The following are listed by their distance from Drennen, with the one closest to Drennen listed first.
- Brushy Junction ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Brushy Junction is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Junction
- Crichton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Crichton is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crichton
- Quinwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Quinwood is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Lile
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lile is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lile
- Orient Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Orient Hill is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orient Hill
- Charmco
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Hines
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Hines is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hines
- McRoss
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- McRoss is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRoss
- Rainelle
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Rupert
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Crawley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Vale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Vale is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Kanawha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Drennen, with the one closest to Drennen listed first.
- Apgah ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Apgah is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apgah
- Handley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Handley is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
- Hugheston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hugheston is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugheston
- Pratt
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Pratt is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
- Hollygrove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Hollygrove is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollygrove
- Hollygrove has also been known as:
- Hollygrove Station
- Hudnall
- Glasgow
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Clendenin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Reamer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Reamer is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reamer
- Cedar Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Cedar Grove is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
- Coco
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Coco is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coco
- East Bank
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- East Bank is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bank
- Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
- Falling Rock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Falling Rock is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Rock
- Ronda
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Ronda is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ronda
- Raleigh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Drennen, with the one closest to Drennen listed first.
- Royal ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Royal is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Terry
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Terry is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terry
- Bradley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Bradley is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Piney View
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Piney View is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney View
- Roane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Drennen, with the one closest to Drennen listed first.
- Pigeon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pigeon is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Kester ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Kester is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kester
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Drennen, with the one closest to Drennen listed first.
- Camden-on-Gauley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Camden-on-Gauley is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden-on-Gauley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Welch Glade
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Welch Glade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch Glade
- Cowen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Halo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Halo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halo
- Upperglade
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Upperglade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upperglade
- Erbacon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Erbacon is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erbacon
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Drennen, see our County-by-County Page for Drennen.
Cemeteries Near Drennen ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Drennen.
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 Drennen - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Drennen covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Drennen, with the one closest to Drennen listed first.
- Neil Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Keenan Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Bethel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dotson - Simpson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Zoar Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Duling Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- McCutchin Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Simms Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Sugar Creek Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- White Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Catholic Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Rich Creek Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (357 more) ...
- Legg Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Mt. Lookout Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Groves Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
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 Drennen in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Drennen.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Drennen, with the one closest to Drennen listed first.
- Tipton
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Tipton is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Zela
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Zela is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
- Albion ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Albion is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Keslers Cross Lanes
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
- Gilboa
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gilboa is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilboa
- Leander
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Leander is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
- Elliot ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Elliot is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot
- Enon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Enon is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enon
- Deitz ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Deitz is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deitz
- Mulvane ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Mulvane is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulvane
- Clifty
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Clifty is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifty
- Mount Lookout
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Lookout is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Lookout
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Mount Nebo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Belva
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Belva is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belva
- Ansted
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Drennen. See our List of 1890's Communities around Drennen.
Newspapers Published in Drennen ...
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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Drennen.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Drennen, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Drennen.
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 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 Drennen:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Nicholas County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Braxton County
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Fayette County
- Greenbrier County
- Kanawha County
- Raleigh County
- Roane County
- Webster 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 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> | 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 Drennen, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Drennen) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |