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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 Fort Ashby (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 Fort Ashby. 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 Fort Ashby ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Fort Ashby: Ft. Ashby

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 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.

Fort Ashby is located in Mineral 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 Mineral County: Allegany (MD), Garrett (MD), Grant, Hampshire & Hardy.

Below are the counties that are near Fort Ashby. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Fort Ashby:

  • Mineral County     (The home county of Fort Ashby)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Ashby, with the one closest to Fort Ashby listed first.
    • Short Gap
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Short Gap is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Gap
    • Wiley Ford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Headsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Headsville is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
    • Carpendale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Carpendale is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpendale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 900 people
    • Ridgeley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Keyser
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Burlington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Piedmont
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • New Creek
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Windom ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Windom is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
    • Shaw
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Shaw is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
    • Elk Garden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Ashby, with the one closest to Fort Ashby listed first.
    • Medley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Greenland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Greenland is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
    • Lahmansville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Lahmansville is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lahmansville
  • Hampshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Ashby, with the one closest to Fort Ashby listed first.
    • Ritters
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Ritters is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritters
    • Springfield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Donaldson
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Donaldson is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
    • Wapocomo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Wapocomo is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapocomo
    • Vance
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Vance is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
    • Points
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Points is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Points
    • Three Churches
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Three Churches is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Churches
    • Romney
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Romney is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,680 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Romney <1>
    • Higginsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Higginsville is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginsville
    • Okonoko
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Okonoko is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okonoko
    • Junction
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Junction is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
    • Augusta
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Hardy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Ashby, with the one closest to Fort Ashby listed first.
    • Inkerman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Inkerman is located in Hardy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inkerman
    • Wardensville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Morgan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Ashby, with the one closest to Fort Ashby listed first.
    • Paw Paw
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Magnolia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Magnolia is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
    • Hansrote
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Hansrote is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansrote
    • Doe Gully
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Doe Gully is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Gully
    • Orleans Cross Roads
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Orleans Cross Roads is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans Cross Roads
    • Woodmont
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Woodmont is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodmont
    • Oakland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Oakland is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
    • Berryville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Berryville is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryville
    • Stotlers Crossroads
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Stotlers Crossroads is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stotlers Crossroads
    • Bath
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Bath is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 587 people
    • Berkeley Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Allegany County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Ashby, with the one closest to Fort Ashby listed first.
    • Spring Gap
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Spring Gap is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Gap
    • Brady
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Brady is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
    • Frost ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Frost is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
    • Pinto
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Pinto is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinto
    • Rawlings
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Cedar Cliff
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Cedar Cliff is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Cliff
    • Cresaptown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Oldtown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Shanty Town ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Shanty Town is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanty Town
    • Cumberland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • La Vale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Loarville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Loarville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loarville
  • Garrett County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Ashby, with the one closest to Fort Ashby listed first.
    • Bloomington
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Bloomington is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
    • Avilton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Avilton is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
    • Kitzmiller
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Grantsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Swanton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Bittinger
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Altamont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Altamont is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
    • Schell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Schell is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
    • Accident
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Deer Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Washington County (MD)
    • Pearre
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Pearre is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearre
  • Bedford County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Ashby, with the one closest to Fort Ashby listed first.
    • Cooks Mills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
    • Stringtown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Stringtown is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Beans Cove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Beans Cove is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Cove
    • Hyndman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Hyndman is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyndman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 854 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hyndman <1>
    • Purcell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Purcell is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purcell
    • Rainsburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Rainsburg is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
  • Somerset County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Ashby, with the one closest to Fort Ashby listed first.
    • Wellersburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Wellersburg is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellersburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
    • Wittenberg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Wittenberg is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittenberg
    • Callimont
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Callimont is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callimont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
    • Fairhope
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Salisbury
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Boynton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Boynton is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
    • Glade City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Glade City is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade City
    • West Salisbury
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • West Salisbury is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salisbury
    • Johnsburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Coal Run
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Coal Run is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Run
    • Meyersdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • West Meyersdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • West Meyersdale is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Meyersdale
  • Frederick County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Ashby, with the one closest to Fort Ashby listed first.
    • Good
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Good is located in Frederick County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good
    • Collinsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Collinsville is located in Frederick County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
    • Lehew
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Lehew is located in Frederick County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lehew
    • Cross Junction
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Nordic Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Nordic Village is located in Frederick County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nordic Village
    • Rock Enon Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Rock Enon Springs is located in Frederick County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Enon Springs
    • Shockeysville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Shockeysville is located in Frederick County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shockeysville
    • Siler
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Siler is located in Frederick County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siler

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Fort Ashby, see our County-by-County Page for Fort Ashby.

Cemeteries Near Fort Ashby ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fort Ashby.

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 Fort Ashby - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Fort Ashby covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Fort Ashby, with the one closest to Fort Ashby listed first.

  • Rice Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Frankfort Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Inkeep Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Carr Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Van Meter Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Reece Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Long Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Eusiva Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Ilechiter Monnett Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Methodist Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Hardy Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Abe Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (233 more) ...
    • Mineral Baptist Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Wesleyan Memorial Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Dayton Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)

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 Fort Ashby in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Fort Ashby.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Fort Ashby, with the one closest to Fort Ashby listed first.

  • Patterson Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Patterson Creek is located in Mineral County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson Creek
  • Grace
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Grace is located in Hampshire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace
  • Springfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Reeses Mill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Reeses Mill is located in Mineral County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeses Mill
  • Seymour
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Seymour is located in Mineral County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
  • Brady
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Brady is located in Allegany County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
  • Donaldson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Donaldson is located in Hampshire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
  • Pinto
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Pinto is located in Allegany County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinto
  • Bier
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Bier is located in Allegany County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bier
  • Rawlings
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Wapocomo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Wapocomo is located in Hampshire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapocomo
  • Cresaptown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Headsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Headsville is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
    • Green Spring
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Green Spring is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Spring
    • Oldtown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Fort Ashby. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fort Ashby.

Newspapers Published in Fort Ashby ...

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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fort Ashby.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fort Ashby, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fort Ashby.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Fort Ashby:

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 Fort Ashby, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Fort Ashby) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.