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 East Beckley (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 East Beckley. 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.
Name Variations for East Beckley ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for East Beckley: E. Beckley
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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.
East Beckley is located in Raleigh 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 Raleigh County: Boone, Fayette, Kanawha, Mercer, Summers & Wyoming.
Below are the counties that are near East Beckley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to East Beckley:
- Raleigh County (The home county of East Beckley)
- The following are listed by their distance from East Beckley, with the one closest to East Beckley listed first.
- Raleigh
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Raleigh is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh
- Sprague
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Sprague is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprague
- Beckley
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Clifftop
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Clifftop is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifftop
- Skelton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Skelton is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skelton
- White Stick
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- White Stick is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Stick
- Tilden
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Tilden is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilden
- Beaver
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mabscott
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Mabscott is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabscott
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,251 people
- MacArthur
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Old Mill Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Old Mill Village is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Mill Village
- Wickham
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Wickham is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickham
- Crab Orchard
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from East Beckley, with the one closest to East Beckley listed first.
- Janie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Janie is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janie
- Former name for Janie:
- Mordue
- Whitesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- 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
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Elk Run Junction is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Run Junction
- Greenwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Greenwood is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Lindytown ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Lindytown is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindytown
- Rocklick
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Rocklick is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocklick
- Sylvester
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Twilight
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Twilight is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilight
- Bald Knob
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Bald Knob is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Knob
- Barrett
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Barrett is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrett
- Bandytown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bandytown is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandytown
- Keith
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Keith is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keith
- Pondco
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Pondco is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pondco
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from East Beckley, with the one closest to East Beckley listed first.
- Kilsyth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Kilsyth is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilsyth
- Mount Hope
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Prince
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Quinnimont
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Quinnimont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinnimont
- White Oak Junction
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- White Oak Junction is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak Junction
- McKendree
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- McKendree is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
- Pax
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pax is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pax
- Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
- Harvey
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Harvey is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
- Redstar
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Redstar is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstar
- Roseville ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Roseville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
- Newlyn ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Newlyn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlyn
- Alaska ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Alaska is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
- Sewell Knob ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sewell Knob is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewell Knob
- Sewell Knob has also been known as:
- Swell Knob
- Greenbrier County
- The following are listed by their distance from East Beckley, with the one closest to East Beckley listed first.
- Vale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Vale is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Rainelle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- McRoss
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- McRoss is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRoss
- Charmco
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hines
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hines is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hines
- Alderson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Rupert
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Crawley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Orient Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Orient Hill is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orient Hill
- Kanawha County
- The following are listed by their distance from East Beckley, with the one closest to East Beckley listed first.
- Carbon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Carbon is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Acme
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Acme is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Eskdale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Eskdale is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskdale
- Handley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Handley is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
- McDowell County
- The following are listed by their distance from East Beckley, with the one closest to East Beckley listed first.
- Northfork
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Keystone
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Kyle
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Kyle is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
- Elkhorn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Elkhorn is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
- Kimball
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mercer County
- The following are listed by their distance from East Beckley, with the one closest to East Beckley listed first.
- Lashmeet
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lashmeet is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lashmeet
- Matoaka
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Matoaka is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
- Weyanoke
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Weyanoke is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyanoke
- Athens
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Johnston Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Johnston Town is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnston Town
- Princeton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Elgood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Elgood is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgood
- Coaldale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Coaldale is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Flipping
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Flipping is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
- Montcalm
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Montcalm is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcalm
- Littlesburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Littlesburg is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from East Beckley, with the one closest to East Beckley listed first.
- Creamery
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Creamery is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Ballard
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ballard is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
- Wayside
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wayside is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside
- Wolfcreek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Wolfcreek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfcreek
- Summers County
- The following are listed by their distance from East Beckley, with the one closest to East Beckley listed first.
- Jumping Branch
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
- Nimitz
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Nimitz is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimitz
- New Richmond ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- New Richmond is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
- Sandstone
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Brooklin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brooklin is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
- Hinton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bellepoint
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bellepoint is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellepoint
- Packs Ferry
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Packs Ferry is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry
- True
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- True is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True
- Pipestem
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Buck
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Buck is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
- Hilldale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hilldale is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
- Talcott
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Wyoming County
- The following are listed by their distance from East Beckley, with the one closest to East Beckley listed first.
- Mullens
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bud
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Bud is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
- Keyrock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Keyrock is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyrock
- Kopperston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Kopperston is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kopperston
- Rock View
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rock View is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock View
- Pineville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Turkey
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Turkey is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey
- Mullensville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mullensville is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullensville
- Oceana
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Wyoming
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wyoming is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
- Fanny
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fanny is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanny
- Woosley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Woosley is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woosley
- Clear Fork
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- 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 East Beckley, see our County-by-County Page for East Beckley.
Cemeteries Near East Beckley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of East Beckley.
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 East Beckley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for East Beckley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from East Beckley, with the one closest to East Beckley listed first.
- Wright Hunter Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Greenwood Memorial Park
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Wildwood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Teel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- St. Sebastians Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Sunset Memorial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Calfee Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. TaborCemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Davis Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Tabor Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- W.T. Warden Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for W.T. Warden Family Cemetery
- The W.T. Warden Family Cemetery has also been known as:
- Warden Family Cemetery
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (334 more) ...
- Pemberton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hall Family Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hall Family Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Hall Family Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the north of Shady Spring.
- Cannaday Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
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>
While we didn't find East Beckley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of East Beckley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from East Beckley, with the one closest to East Beckley listed first.
- Daniels
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pemberton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pemberton is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
- Prosperity
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Prosperity is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosperity
- Shady Spring
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Crow
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Crow is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow
- Grandview
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Grandview is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Lester
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Lester is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 312 people
- Prince
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Hope
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Quinnimont
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Quinnimont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinnimont
- Cirtsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cirtsville is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cirtsville
- Matville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Matville is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matville
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Glade
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Glade is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade
- McKendree
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- McKendree is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
- Roseville ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Roseville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around East Beckley. See our List of 1890's Communities around East Beckley.
Newspapers Published in East Beckley ...
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 East Beckley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of East Beckley, there are papers which were published within 6 miles [9.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for East Beckley.
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 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 East Beckley:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Raleigh County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Boone County
- Fayette County
- Greenbrier County
- Kanawha County
- McDowell County
- Mercer County
- Monroe County
- Summers County
- Wyoming 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> | 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 from Point A (ie- East Beckley) 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 East Beckley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |