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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 Spring (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 Spring. 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 Spring ...

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 have occurred.

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

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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 Spring is located in Greenbrier County.

To see how the shape of West Virginia's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Greenbrier County: Alleghany (VA), Bath (VA), Fayette, Monroe, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Summers & Webster.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Fort Spring ...

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

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Hanger Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hanger Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hanger Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Coffman Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Coffman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Coffman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lincoln Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lincoln Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lincoln Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Harrah Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harrah Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harrah Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Salem Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Morgan Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Morgan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Morgan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Adwell Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Lebanon Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lebanon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lebanon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Greenbrier Memorial Gardens
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenbrier Memorial Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenbrier Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Stone Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Stone Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Stone Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Alderson Fletcher Addition Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Alderson Fletcher Addition Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Alderson Fletcher Addition Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rosewood Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (135 more) ...

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Fort Spring had a population of 151 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Rockland
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rockland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
    • Rockland is located in Greenbrier County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Rockland
    • From Fort Spring to Rockland
  • Ronceverte
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Blaker Mills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blaker Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaker Mills
    • Blaker Mills is located in Greenbrier County
  • Nickells Mill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nickells Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickells Mill
    • Nickells Mill is located in Monroe County
  • Patton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Patton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patton
    • Patton is located in Greenbrier County
  • Alderson
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Asbury
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Asbury have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
    • Asbury is located in Greenbrier County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Asbury <2>
  • Sinks Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sinks Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinks Grove
    • Sinks Grove is located in Monroe County
  • Monitor
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monitor have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
    • Monitor is located in Monroe County
  • Whitcomb ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitcomb have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitcomb
    • Whitcomb is located in Greenbrier County
  • Lewisburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Wolfcreek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Pickaway
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pickaway have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickaway
      • Pickaway is located in Monroe County
    • Alta
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alta have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
      • Alta is located in Greenbrier County
    • Caldwell
      (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 Spring. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fort Spring.

Newspapers Published in Fort Spring ...

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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fort Spring.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fort Spring, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fort Spring.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Fort Spring:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Fort Spring. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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.
<5>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 Spring, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Fort Spring) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fort Spring. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.7451, Longitude: -80.5394    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025