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