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 Elton (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 Elton. 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 doctors and 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.
Elton is located in Summers 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 Summers County: Giles (VA), Fayette, Greenbrier, Mercer, Monroe & Raleigh.
Below are the counties that are near Elton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Elton:
- Summers County (The home county of Elton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elton, with the one closest to Elton listed first.
- New Richmond ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- New Richmond is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
- Sandstone
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Riffe
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Riffe is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riffe
- Brooklin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brooklin is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
- Hinton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lowell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Lowell is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Talcott
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Bellepoint
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Bellepoint is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellepoint
- Hilldale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Hilldale is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
- Bargers Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Bargers Springs is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bargers Springs
- Packs Ferry
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Packs Ferry is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry
- Buck
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Buck is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
- Jumping Branch
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elton, with the one closest to Elton listed first.
- Spring Dale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Spring Dale is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Dale
- Meadow Bridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Meadow Bridge is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Bridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Bellwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Bellwood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
- Maywood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Maywood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maywood
- Hilton Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hilton Village is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
- Quinnimont
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Quinnimont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinnimont
- Alaska ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Alaska is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
- Clifftop
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- McKendree
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- McKendree is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
- Prince
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Sewell Knob ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sewell Knob is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewell Knob
- Sewell Knob has also been known as:
- Swell Knob
- Stonecliff ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Stonecliff is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonecliff
- Stonecliff has also been known as:
- Stone Cliff
- East Sewell ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- East Sewell is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sewell
- Greenbrier County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elton, with the one closest to Elton listed first.
- Vale
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Vale is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Rainelle
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- McRoss
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- McRoss is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRoss
- Crawley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rupert
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Alderson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Charmco
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Hines
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Hines is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hines
- Kieffer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Kieffer is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieffer
- Orient Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Orient Hill is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orient Hill
- Frazier
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Frazier is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier
- Fort Spring
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Fort Spring is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Spring
- Crichton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Crichton is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crichton
- Logan County
- Rich Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Rich Creek is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
- Mercer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elton, with the one closest to Elton listed first.
- Athens
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Elgood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Elgood is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgood
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elton, with the one closest to Elton listed first.
- Creamery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Creamery is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Wolfcreek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Wolfcreek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfcreek
- Wayside
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Wayside is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside
- Union
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Union is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Population from the 2020 Census: 539 people
- Hillsdale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hillsdale is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Wikel
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Wikel is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wikel
- Assurance
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Assurance is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assurance
- Ballard
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Ballard is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
- Hollywood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Hollywood is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
- Peterstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elton, with the one closest to Elton listed first.
- Peaser Junction ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Peaser Junction is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaser Junction
- Carl
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Carl is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
- Runa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Runa is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runa
- Snow Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Snow Hill is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Odell Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Odell Town is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odell Town
- Odell Town has also been known as:
- Odell
- Tolbert
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Tolbert is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolbert
- Morrison ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Morrison is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
- Nettie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Keslers Cross Lanes
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
- Saxman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Saxman is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxman
- Albion ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Albion is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Donald
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Donald is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
- Richwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Raleigh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elton, with the one closest to Elton listed first.
- Abraham
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Abraham is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abraham
- Royal ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Royal is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Grandview
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Grandview is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Terry
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Terry is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terry
- Clifftop
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Clifftop is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifftop
- Shady Spring
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Daniels
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Piney View
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Piney View is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney View
- Beaver
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Stanaford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Stanaford is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanaford
- White Stick
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- White Stick is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Stick
- Raleigh
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Raleigh is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh
- Skelton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Skelton is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skelton
- Giles County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elton, with the one closest to Elton listed first.
- Rich Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Kire
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Kire is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kire
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Elton, see our County-by-County Page for Elton.
Cemeteries Near Elton ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elton.
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 Elton - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Elton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Elton, with the one closest to Elton listed first.
- Hicks - Swell Mtn. Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks - Swell Mtn. Cemetery
- The Hicks - Swell Mtn. Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hicks Cemetery
- Hix Cemetery
- Wickline Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- William Thomas Lowry Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Henson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Bragg Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Patton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- White Family Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Richmond Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Colmans Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Suttle
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suttle
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Suttle is located 12 miles [19.3 km]<3> to the west of Lewisburg.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2342096 <2>
- Goddard Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- New Salem Baptist Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (207 more) ...
- Meadows Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Meadows Family Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Richardson 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Elton had a population of 62 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Elton, with the one closest to Elton listed first.
- Green Sulphur Springs
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Lawn
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Lawn is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawn
- Spring Dale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Spring Dale is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Dale
- Grassy Meadows
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Grassy Meadows is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy Meadows
- New Richmond ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- New Richmond is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
- Dawson
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Dawson is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Sandstone
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Crickmer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Crickmer is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crickmer
- Brooks
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Brooks is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
- Clayton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Clayton is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Dennis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Dennis is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis
- Santifee ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Santifee is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santifee
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Meadow Bluff
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Meadow Bluff is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Bluff
- Maywood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Maywood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maywood
- Glade
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Glade is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Elton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Elton.
Newspapers Published in Elton ...
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 Elton.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Elton, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Elton.
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 Elton:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Summers County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fayette County
- Greenbrier County
- Logan County
- Mercer County
- Monroe County
- Nicholas County
- Raleigh County
- Giles 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Elton) 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 Elton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |