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 Guardian (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 Guardian. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.
Guardian is located in Webster 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 Webster County: Braxton, Greenbrier, Lewis, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Randolph & Upshur.
Below are the counties that are near Guardian. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Guardian:
- Webster County (The home county of Guardian)
- The following are listed by their distance from Guardian, with the one closest to Guardian listed first.
- Big Run
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Big Run is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Hacker Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Replete
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Replete is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Replete
- Cleveland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Orndoff
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Orndoff is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orndoff
- Erbacon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Erbacon is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erbacon
- Addison
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Addison is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
- Excelsior
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Excelsior is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Ralph
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ralph is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ralph
- Halo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Halo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halo
- Upperglade
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Upperglade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upperglade
- Cowen
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Welch Glade
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Welch Glade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch Glade
- Braxton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Guardian, with the one closest to Guardian listed first.
- Milroy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Milroy is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milroy
- Palmer
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Palmer is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
- Corley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Corley is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Falls Mill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Falls Mill is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mill
- Bulltown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bulltown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulltown
- Flatwoods
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- McNutt
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- McNutt is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNutt
- Heaters
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Napier
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Napier is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napier
- Knawl
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Knawl is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knawl
- Little Birch
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Little Birch is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Birch
- Sutton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Lloydsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lloydsville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydsville
- Calhoun County
- Losie ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Losie is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Losie
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Guardian, with the one closest to Guardian listed first.
- Wattsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Wattsville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Widen
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Widen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widen
- Harrison
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Ira
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Lydia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Lydia is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lydia
- Gilmer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Guardian, with the one closest to Guardian listed first.
- Stouts Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Stouts Mills is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stouts Mills
- Cedarville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Cedarville is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Sand Fork
(24 miles [38.6 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
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Truebada is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truebada
- Baldwin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Baldwin is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Glenville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Shock
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Shock is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shock
- Normantown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Guardian, with the one closest to Guardian listed first.
- Duffy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Duffy is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffy
- Crawford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- 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
- Garton Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Garton Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garton Village
- Cox Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Cox Town is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox Town
- 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
- Weston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Alum Bridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Alum Bridge is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alum Bridge
- Berlin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Berlin is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Camden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Camden is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
- Aberdeen
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Aberdeen is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberdeen
- Vadis
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Vadis is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vadis
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Guardian, with the one closest to Guardian listed first.
- Birch River
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Tioga
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Beaver
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Beaver is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Craigsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Muddlety
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Muddlety is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddlety
- Richwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Donald
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Donald is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
- Saxman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Saxman is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxman
- Pocahontas County
- Slaty Fork
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Guardian, with the one closest to Guardian listed first.
- Florence ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Florence is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Pickens
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Helvetia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Blue Spring
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Blue Spring is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Spring
- Monterville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Elkwater
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Elkwater is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkwater
- Mingo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Valley Head
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Lee Bell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lee Bell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Bell
- Huff ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Huff is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huff
- Huttonsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Cassity
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cassity is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassity
- Mill Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Mill Creek is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 681 people
- Upshur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Guardian, with the one closest to Guardian listed first.
- Goshen
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Goshen is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Kanawha Head
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kanawha Head is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha Head
- Wilsontown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wilsontown is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsontown
- Rock Cave
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Cave is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Cave
- Alexander
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Alexander is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- Frenchton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Frenchton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchton
- Alton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Alton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Hoover Town
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Hoover Town is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover Town
- Beans Mill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Beans Mill is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Mill
- Abbott
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Abbott is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- Adrian
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Adrian is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adrian
- Sellers ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sellers is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
- Tenmile
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tenmile is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Guardian, see our County-by-County Page for Guardian.
Cemeteries Near Guardian ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Guardian.
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 Guardian - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Guardian covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Guardian, with the one closest to Guardian listed first.
- Hall Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Big Run Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Clifton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Centralia Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Columbus McCourt Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Holly River Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hodam Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- McCourt - Cogar Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Green Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Kniceley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Kraft Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Cutlip Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (244 more) ...
- Vance Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mt. Hebron Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gibson 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.<3>
While we didn't find Guardian in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Guardian.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Guardian, with the one closest to Guardian listed first.
- Pugh
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pugh is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pugh
- Diana
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Diana is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diana
- Hacker Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Replete
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Replete is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Replete
- Milroy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Milroy is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milroy
- Jumbo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jumbo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumbo
- Caress
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Caress is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caress
- Bakers Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bakers Run is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakers Run
- Cleveland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Newville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Newville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
- Little Wildcat ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Little Wildcat is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Wildcat
- Corley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Corley is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Hettie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Hettie is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hettie
- Falls Mill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Falls Mill is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mill
- Mayton ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Mayton is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Guardian. See our List of 1890's Communities around Guardian.
Newspapers Published in Guardian ...
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 Guardian.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Guardian, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Guardian.
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 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 Guardian:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Webster County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Braxton County
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Gilmer County
- Lewis County
- Nicholas County
- Pocahontas County
- Randolph County
- Upshur 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 Guardian, 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 from Point A (ie- Guardian) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |