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 Groves (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 Groves. 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 southeast 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 south.
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 south 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.
Groves is located in Clay 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 Clay County: Braxton, Calhoun, Kanawha, Nicholas & Roane.
Below are the counties that are near Groves. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Groves:
- Clay County (The home county of Groves)
- The following are listed by their distance from Groves, with the one closest to Groves listed first.
- Ira
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Harrison
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Gould
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Dink
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Dink is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dink
- Wattsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wattsville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Lydia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lydia is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lydia
- Spread
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Spread is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
- Widen
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Widen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widen
- Valley Fork
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Clay
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hartland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hartland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Elkhurst
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Elkhurst is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
- Braxton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Groves, with the one closest to Groves listed first.
- Strange Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Strange Creek is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strange Creek
- Clem
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Clem is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clem
- Elmira
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Elmira is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
- Herold
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Herold is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herold
- Frametown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Frametown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frametown
- Rockton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rockton is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockton
- Sleith ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Sleith is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleith
- Twistville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Twistville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twistville
- Wilsie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wilsie is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsie
- Canfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Canfield is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Gassaway
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Little Birch
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Little Birch is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Birch
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Groves, with the one closest to Groves listed first.
- Mudfork
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mudfork is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudfork
- Losie ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Losie is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Losie
- Stinson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stinson is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Walnut
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Walnut is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Oka
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Oka is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oka
- Gomez ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Gomez is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gomez
- Orma
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Orma is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orma
- Arnoldsburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Arnoldsburg is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnoldsburg
- Beech
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Beech is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech
- Pink
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pink is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pink
- Russet
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Russet is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russet
- Staten
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Staten is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staten
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Groves, with the one closest to Groves listed first.
- Leander
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Leander is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
- Elliot ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Elliot is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot
- Romont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Romont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romont
- Mulvane ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Mulvane is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulvane
- Clifty
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Clifty is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifty
- Victor
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Victor is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victor
- Gauley Bridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ansted
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Gilmer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Groves, with the one closest to Groves listed first.
- Shock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Shock is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shock
- Normantown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Stumptown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Stumptown is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stumptown
- Cedarville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Cedarville is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- De Kalb
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- De Kalb is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Kalb
- Glenville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Stouts Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Stouts Mills is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stouts Mills
- Truebada
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Truebada is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truebada
- Sand Fork
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sand Fork is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Fork
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Baldwin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Baldwin is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Kanawha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Groves, with the one closest to Groves listed first.
- Apgah ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Apgah is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apgah
- Wellford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Wellford is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellford
- Clendenin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Reamer
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Reamer is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reamer
- Falling Rock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Falling Rock is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Rock
- Youngs Bottom
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Youngs Bottom is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngs Bottom
- Coco
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Coco is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coco
- Three Mile
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Three Mile is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Mile
- Elkview
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Jarretts Ford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Jarretts Ford is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarretts Ford
- Pinch
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Pinch is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinch
- Wills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Wills is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wills
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Groves, with the one closest to Groves listed first.
- Birch River
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Muddlety
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Muddlety is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddlety
- Zela
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Zela is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
- Tioga
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Summersville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Tipton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Tipton is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Keslers Cross Lanes
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
- Beaver
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Beaver is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Craigsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Albion ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Albion is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Morrison ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Morrison is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
- Dixie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dixie is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Roane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Groves, with the one closest to Groves listed first.
- Pigeon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Pigeon is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Roxalana
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Roxalana is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxalana
- Kester ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Kester is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kester
- Looneyville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Graux
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Graux is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graux
- Rushville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rushville is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushville
- Walton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Triplett
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Triplett is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triplett
- Spencer
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mattie ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Mattie is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattie
- Zona
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Zona is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zona
- Cicerone
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Cicerone is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cicerone
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Groves, with the one closest to Groves listed first.
- Erbacon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Erbacon is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erbacon
- Camden-on-Gauley
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Camden-on-Gauley is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden-on-Gauley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Halo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Halo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halo
- Cowen
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Welch Glade
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Welch Glade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch Glade
- Big Run
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Big Run is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Upperglade
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Upperglade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upperglade
- Excelsior
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Excelsior is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Orndoff
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Orndoff is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orndoff
- Replete
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Replete is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Replete
- Addison
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Addison is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Groves, see our County-by-County Page for Groves.
Cemeteries Near Groves ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Groves.
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 Groves - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Groves covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Groves, with the one closest to Groves listed first.
- Duffield Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- McCracken Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Chapman Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lyons Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Eagle Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Turner Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Goad Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Strange Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strange Creek Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Strange Creek Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Strange Creek
- The Strange Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
- Keeners Ridge Community Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1976835 <2>
- Murphy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bogg Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hallburg Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hall Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (482 more) ...
- Pt. Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Chapman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mollohan Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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 Groves in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Groves.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Groves, with the one closest to Groves listed first.
- Ira
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Harrison
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Strange Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Strange Creek is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strange Creek
- Gould
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Elmira
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Elmira is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
- Wattsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wattsville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Herold
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Herold is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herold
- Lydia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lydia is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lydia
- Frametown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Frametown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frametown
- Valley Fork
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Twistville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Twistville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twistville
- Sleith ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Sleith is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleith
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Stinson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stinson is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Birch River
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Canfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Canfield is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Groves. See our List of 1890's Communities around Groves.
Newspapers Published in Groves ...
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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Groves.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Groves, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Groves.
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 websites either 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 Groves:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Clay County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Braxton County
- Calhoun County
- Fayette County
- Gilmer County
- Kanawha County
- Nicholas County
- Roane 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> | 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 Groves, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Groves) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |