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 Gillespie (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 Gillespie. 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 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.
Gillespie 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 Gillespie. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Gillespie:
- Braxton County (The home county of Gillespie)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Palmer
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Palmer is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
- McNutt
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- McNutt is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNutt
- Flatwoods
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sutton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Corley
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Corley is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Heaters
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lloydsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lloydsville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydsville
- Milroy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Milroy is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milroy
- Little Birch
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Little Birch is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Birch
- Bulltown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bulltown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulltown
- Falls Mill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Falls Mill is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mill
- Canfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Canfield is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Losie ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Losie is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Losie
- Walnut
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Walnut is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Mudfork
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Mudfork is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudfork
- Stinson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Stinson is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Gomez ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Gomez is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gomez
- Orma
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Orma is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orma
- Russet
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Russet is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russet
- Staten
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Staten is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staten
- Oka
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Oka is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oka
- Arnoldsburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Arnoldsburg is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnoldsburg
- Beech
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Beech is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Wattsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Wattsville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Widen
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Widen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widen
- Ira
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Harrison
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Lydia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Lydia is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lydia
- Dink
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Dink is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dink
- Gould
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Spread
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Spread is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
- Clay
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Valley Fork
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Hartland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hartland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Gilmer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Cedarville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cedarville is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Stouts Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Stouts Mills is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stouts Mills
- Sand Fork
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Fork is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Fork
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Truebada
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Truebada is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truebada
- Shock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Shock is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shock
- Normantown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Baldwin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Baldwin is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Glenville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Stumptown
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Stumptown is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stumptown
- Troy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Troy is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- Alice
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Alice is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
- De Kalb
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- De Kalb is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Kalb
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Duffy
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Duffy is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffy
- Crawford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Crawford is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Alkires Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Alkires Mills is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkires Mills
- Alum Bridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Alum Bridge is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alum Bridge
- Cox Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Cox Town is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox Town
- Vadis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Vadis is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vadis
- Garton Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Garton Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garton Village
- Camden
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Camden is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
- Weston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Hurst
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Hurst is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurst
- Smith Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Smith Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Village
- Berlin
(30 miles [48.3 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 Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Birch River
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Tioga
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Beaver
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Beaver is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Craigsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Muddlety
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Muddlety is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddlety
- Donald
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Donald is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
- Summersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Nettie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Richwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Florence ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Florence is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Pickens
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Helvetia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Blue Spring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Blue Spring is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Spring
- Monterville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Upshur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Kanawha Head
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kanawha Head is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha Head
- Goshen
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Goshen is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Wilsontown
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- 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
- Frenchton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Frenchton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchton
- Alexander
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Alexander is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- 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
- Adrian
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Adrian is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adrian
- Alton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Alton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Beans Mill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- 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
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Replete
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Replete is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Replete
- Big Run
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Big Run is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Erbacon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Erbacon is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erbacon
- Cleveland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Hacker Valley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Orndoff
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Orndoff is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orndoff
- Halo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Halo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halo
- Excelsior
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Excelsior is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Cowen
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Addison
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Addison is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
- Upperglade
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Upperglade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upperglade
- Ralph
(18 miles [29 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 Gillespie, see our County-by-County Page for Gillespie.
Cemeteries Near Gillespie ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gillespie.
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 Gillespie - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Gillespie covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Morton Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Newville Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Morrison UMC Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Braxton County Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Baker Ridge Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sutton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ware Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sutton Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- 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.
- Camden Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Ellison Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Stone Run Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Flatwoods Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (331 more) ...
- Centralia Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Hebron Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hamner Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<3>
While we didn't find Gillespie in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Gillespie.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Gillespie, with the one closest to Gillespie listed first.
- Newville
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Newville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
- Bakers Run
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bakers Run is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakers Run
- McNutt
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- McNutt is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNutt
- Flatwoods
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Caress
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Caress is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caress
- Sutton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Corley
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Corley is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Heaters
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lloydsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lloydsville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydsville
- Little Birch
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Little Birch is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Birch
- Milroy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Milroy is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milroy
- Canfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Canfield is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Replete
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Replete is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Replete
- Falls Mill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Falls Mill is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mill
- Bulltown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- 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 Gillespie. See our List of 1890's Communities around Gillespie.
Newspapers Published in Gillespie ...
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 Gillespie.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gillespie, 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 Gillespie.
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 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 Gillespie:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Braxton County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Gilmer County
- Lewis County
- Nicholas County
- Randolph 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' (or 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- Gillespie) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Gillespie, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |