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 Fairbanks (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 Fairbanks. 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 hospitals and 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.
Fairbanks is located in Braxton 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 Braxton County: Calhoun, Clay, Gilmer, Lewis, Nicholas & Webster.
Below are the counties that are near Fairbanks. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Fairbanks:
- Braxton County (The home county of Fairbanks)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
- Flatwoods
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Lloydsville
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Lloydsville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydsville
- McNutt
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- McNutt is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNutt
- Heaters
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Corley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Corley is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Rollyson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rollyson is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollyson
- Exchange
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sutton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Arnett
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Arnett is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnett
- Napier
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Napier is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napier
- Palmer
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Palmer is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
- Gassaway
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Chapel
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Chapel is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
- Losie ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Losie is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Losie
- Walnut
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Walnut is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Gomez ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Gomez is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gomez
- Stinson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Stinson is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Russet
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Russet is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russet
- Staten
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Staten is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staten
- Mudfork
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Mudfork is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudfork
- Orma
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Orma is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orma
- Arnoldsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Arnoldsburg is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnoldsburg
- Oka
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Oka is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oka
- Grantsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Beech
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Beech is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech
- Hur
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Hur is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hur
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
- Ira
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Wattsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Wattsville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Lydia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Lydia is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lydia
- Harrison
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Widen
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Widen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widen
- Dink
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Dink is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dink
- Gould
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Spread
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Spread is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
- Valley Fork
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Clay
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hartland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hartland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Doddridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
- Saint Clara
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Saint Clara is located in Doddridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clara
- Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Grove is located in Doddridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove
- Coldwater
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Coldwater is located in Doddridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Gilmer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
- Cedarville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cedarville is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Stouts Mills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Stouts Mills is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stouts Mills
- Sand Fork
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Sand Fork is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Fork
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Truebada
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Truebada is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truebada
- Shock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Shock is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shock
- Glenville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Normantown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Baldwin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Baldwin is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Stumptown
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Stumptown is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stumptown
- Alice
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Alice is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
- Troy
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Troy is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- De Kalb
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- De Kalb is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Kalb
- Conings
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Conings is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conings
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
- Duffy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Duffy is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffy
- Crawford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Crawford is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Alum Bridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Alum Bridge is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alum Bridge
- Vadis
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Vadis is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vadis
- Alkires Mills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Alkires Mills is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkires Mills
- Camden
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Camden is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
- Cox Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Cox Town is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox Town
- Hurst
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Hurst is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurst
- Garton Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Garton Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garton Village
- Weston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Smith Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Smith Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Village
- Valley Chapel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Berlin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Berlin is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
- Birch River
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Tioga
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Muddlety
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Muddlety is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddlety
- Beaver
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Beaver is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Craigsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
- Florence ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Florence is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Helvetia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Pickens
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Ritchie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
- Auburn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Auburn is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
- Burnt House
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Burnt House is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt House
- Lawford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lawford is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawford
- Upshur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
- Kanawha Head
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Kanawha Head is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha Head
- Wilsontown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Wilsontown is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsontown
- Rock Cave
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Cave is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Cave
- Goshen
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Goshen is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Frenchton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Frenchton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchton
- Hoover Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hoover Town is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover Town
- Abbott
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Abbott is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- Alexander
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Alexander is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- Alton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Alton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Adrian
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Adrian is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adrian
- Beans Mill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Beans Mill is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Mill
- Sago
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sago is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sago
- Sellers ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Sellers is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
- Replete
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Replete is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Replete
- Big Run
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Big Run is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Cleveland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Erbacon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Erbacon is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erbacon
- Hacker Valley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Orndoff
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Orndoff is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orndoff
- Halo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Halo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halo
- Excelsior
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Excelsior is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Cowen
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Addison
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Addison is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
- Welch Glade
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Welch Glade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch Glade
- Upperglade
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Upperglade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upperglade
- Ralph
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ralph is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ralph
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Fairbanks, see our County-by-County Page for Fairbanks.
Cemeteries Near Fairbanks ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fairbanks.
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 Fairbanks - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Fairbanks covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
- Shaver Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Fisher Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Sutton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Flatwoods Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Sutton Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutton Family Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Sutton Family Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the northeast of Sutton.
- Cutlip Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Camden Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Braxton County Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Morrison UMC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Stone Run Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Little Kanawha Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Kanawha Memorial Gardens
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Little Kanawha Memorial Gardens is located between<3> the communities of Heaters and Rollyson. The cemetery lies less than 2 miles<2> to the south of Rollyson.
- Sutton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (369 more) ...
- Ellison Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Otter Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Morton Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<4>
While we didn't find Fairbanks in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Fairbanks.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
- Flatwoods
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Lloydsville
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Lloydsville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydsville
- McNutt
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- McNutt is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNutt
- Heaters
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sutton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Corley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Corley is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Rollyson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rollyson is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollyson
- Little Otter
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Little Otter is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Otter
- Newville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Newville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
- Cutlips
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Cutlips is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutlips
- Chapel
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Chapel is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel
- Bakers Run
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bakers Run is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakers Run
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Caress
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Caress is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caress
- Falls Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Falls Mill is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mill
- Bulltown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bulltown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulltown
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Fairbanks. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fairbanks.
Newspapers Published in Fairbanks ...
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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fairbanks.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fairbanks, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fairbanks.
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 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 Fairbanks:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Braxton County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Doddridge County
- Gilmer County
- Lewis County
- Nicholas County
- Randolph County
- Ritchie County
- Upshur 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Fairbanks) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | To help visualize the location of the cemetery, we've drawn a straight line between the communities of Heaters and Rollyson. The cemetery can be found near that line and roughly halfway between the two communities. Remember that this is just an approximate location. |
| <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 Fairbanks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |