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 Gale (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 Gale. 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.
Gale is located in Upshur 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 Upshur County: Barbour, Harrison, Lewis, Randolph & Webster.
Below are the counties that are near Gale. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Gale:
- Upshur County (The home county of Gale)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gale, with the one closest to Gale listed first.
- Sand Run
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Sand Run is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Run
- Queens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Queens is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queens
- Tallmansville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Gormley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Gormley is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gormley
- Excelsior
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Excelsior is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Overhill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Overhill is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overhill
- Sellers ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Sellers is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
- Tenmile
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Tenmile is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
- Sago
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Sago is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sago
- Reger
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Reger is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reger
- Beans Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Beans Mill is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Mill
- Swamp Run
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Swamp Run is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swamp Run
- Alton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Alton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Barbour County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gale, with the one closest to Gale listed first.
- Audra
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Audra is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Audra
- Junior
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Junior is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junior
- Population from the 2020 Census: 483 people
- Clements ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Clements is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clements
- Wilmoth ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wilmoth is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmoth
- Belington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Valley Bend
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Tygart Junction
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Tygart Junction is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tygart Junction
- Union
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Union is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Calhoun
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Calhoun is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhoun
- Huffman ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Huffman is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Elk City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Elk City is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk City
- Wellington Heights
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Wellington Heights is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellington Heights
- Philippi
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Braxton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gale, with the one closest to Gale listed first.
- Knawl
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Knawl is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knawl
- Milroy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Milroy is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milroy
- Falls Mill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Falls Mill is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mill
- Bulltown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Bulltown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulltown
- Orlando
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Orlando is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orlando
- Napier
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Napier is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napier
- Corley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Corley is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Burnsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Heaters
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Rollyson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Rollyson is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollyson
- Harrison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gale, with the one closest to Gale listed first.
- McWhorter
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- McWhorter is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McWhorter
- Craigmoor
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Craigmoor is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigmoor
- Lost Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lost Creek is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 462 people
- Quiet Dell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Quiet Dell is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quiet Dell
- Anmoore
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Stonewood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Stonewood is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonewood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,702 people
- West Milford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- West Milford is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Milford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 609 people
- Nutter Fort
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Nutter Fort is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutter Fort
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,501 people
- Bridgeport
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Despard
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Despard is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Despard
- Tichenal
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Tichenal is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tichenal
- Adamston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Adamston is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamston
- Clarksburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gale, with the one closest to Gale listed first.
- Aberdeen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Aberdeen is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberdeen
- Berlin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Berlin is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Garton Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Garton Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garton Village
- Crawford
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Crawford is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Duffy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Duffy is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffy
- Alkires Mills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Alkires Mills is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkires Mills
- Cox Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cox Town is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox Town
- Jane Lew
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Weston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Smith Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Smith Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Village
- Westfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Westfield is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
- Lightburn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lightburn is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lightburn
- Valley Chapel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pocahontas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gale, with the one closest to Gale listed first.
- Wildell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wildell is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildell
- Durbin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Frank
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Frank is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frank
- Thornwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Thornwood is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornwood
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gale, with the one closest to Gale listed first.
- Midvale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Midvale is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
- Cassity
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cassity is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassity
- Womelsdorf
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Womelsdorf is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womelsdorf
- Population from the 2020 Census: 235 people
- Weaver
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Weaver is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Huff ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Huff is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huff
- Tigheville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tigheville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tigheville
- Beverly
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Elkins
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Leadsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Leadsville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadsville
- Mill Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mill Creek is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 681 people
- Gilman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Gilman is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilman
- Helvetia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Huttonsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Taylor County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gale, with the one closest to Gale listed first.
- Astor
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Astor is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astor
- Flemington
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Flemington is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flemington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
- Brydon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Brydon is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brydon
- Sandy ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Sandy is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
- Stone House ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Stone House is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone House
- Webster
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Webster is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Yates ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Yates is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates
- Knottsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Knottsville is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knottsville
- Pruntytown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Pruntytown is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pruntytown
- Fetterman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Fetterman is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fetterman
- Grafton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- West Grafton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- West Grafton is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Grafton
- Tucker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gale, with the one closest to Gale listed first.
- Pleasant Run
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Run is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Run
- Porterwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Porterwood is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porterwood
- Parsons
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hambleton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hambleton is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hambleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
- Hendricks
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hendricks is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendricks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
- Gladwin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Gladwin is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladwin
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gale, with the one closest to Gale listed first.
- Cleveland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hacker Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Replete
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Replete is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Replete
- Big Run
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Big Run is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Orndoff
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Orndoff is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orndoff
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Gale, see our County-by-County Page for Gale.
Cemeteries Near Gale ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gale.
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 Gale - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Gale covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Gale, with the one closest to Gale listed first.
- Lanham Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Tenmile Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Long Run Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Reed Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Durrett Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Bailey Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Westfall Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Maher Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Simmons Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (242 more) ...
- Mt. Nebo Methodist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Heavner Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Oldaker Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
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 Gale in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Gale.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Gale, with the one closest to Gale listed first.
- Kedron
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Kedron is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kedron
- Middle Fork ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Middle Fork is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Fork
- Sand Run
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Sand Run is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Run
- Queens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Queens is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queens
- Tallmansville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Kingsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kingsville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsville
- Overhill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Overhill is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overhill
- Sellers ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Sellers is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
- Ivy
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Ivy is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy
- Cassity
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cassity is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassity
- Talbott
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Talbott is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talbott
- Sago
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Sago is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sago
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Hampton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hampton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- Alton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Alton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Hemlock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hemlock is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Gale. See our List of 1890's Communities around Gale.
Newspapers Published in Gale ...
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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gale.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gale, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gale.
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 Gale:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Upshur County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barbour County
- Braxton County
- Harrison County
- Lewis County
- Pocahontas County
- Randolph County
- Taylor County
- Tucker 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' (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- Gale) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Gale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |