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 Half Way (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 Half Way. 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 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.
Half Way is located in Greenbrier 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 Greenbrier County: Alleghany (VA), Bath (VA), Fayette, Monroe, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Summers & Webster.
Below are the counties that are near Half Way. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Half Way:
- Greenbrier County (The home county of Half Way)
- The following are listed by their distance from Half Way, with the one closest to Half Way listed first.
- Frazier
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Frazier is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier
- Fort Spring
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Fort Spring is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Spring
- Alderson
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Rockland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Rockland is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
- Ronceverte
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Fairlea
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Lewisburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Richlands
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Richlands is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richlands
- Caldwell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Vale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Vale is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Crawley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Clendenenville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Clendenenville is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clendenenville
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Half Way, with the one closest to Half Way listed first.
- Spring Dale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Dale is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Dale
- Meadow Bridge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Meadow Bridge is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Bridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Bellwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Bellwood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
- Maywood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Maywood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maywood
- Hilton Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hilton Village is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
- Clifftop
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Quinnimont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Quinnimont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinnimont
- Alaska ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Alaska is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
- McKendree
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- McKendree is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
- Prince
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- East Sewell ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- East Sewell is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sewell
- Sewell Knob ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sewell Knob is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewell Knob
- Sewell Knob has also been known as:
- Swell Knob
- Logan County
- Rich Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rich Creek is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
- Mercer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Half Way, with the one closest to Half Way listed first.
- Elgood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Elgood is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgood
- Willowton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Willowton is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowton
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Half Way, with the one closest to Half Way listed first.
- Wolfcreek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Wolfcreek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfcreek
- Creamery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Creamery is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Union
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Union is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Population from the 2020 Census: 539 people
- Hillsdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hillsdale is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Hollywood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hollywood is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
- Wayside
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wayside is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside
- Wikel
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Wikel is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wikel
- Assurance
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Assurance is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assurance
- Ballard
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ballard is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
- Peterstown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Half Way, with the one closest to Half Way listed first.
- Peaser Junction ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Peaser Junction is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaser Junction
- Carl
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Carl is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
- Snow Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Snow Hill is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Raleigh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Half Way, with the one closest to Half Way listed first.
- Abraham
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Abraham is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abraham
- Grandview
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Grandview is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Royal ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Royal is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Shady Spring
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Clifftop
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Clifftop is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifftop
- Daniels
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Terry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Terry is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terry
- Beaver
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Piney View
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Piney View is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney View
- Summers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Half Way, with the one closest to Half Way listed first.
- Riffe
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Riffe is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riffe
- Lowell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lowell is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Talcott
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bargers Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bargers Springs is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bargers Springs
- Hilldale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hilldale is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
- Buck
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Buck is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
- Forest Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bellepoint
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Bellepoint is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellepoint
- Hinton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- New Richmond ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- New Richmond is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
- Sandstone
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Brooklin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Brooklin is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
- Alleghany County (VA)
- Moss Run
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Moss Run is located in Alleghany County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Run
- Craig County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Half Way, with the one closest to Half Way listed first.
- Captain
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Captain is located in Craig County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Captain
- Simmonsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Simmonsville is located in Craig County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmonsville
- Huffman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Huffman is located in Craig County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- New Castle
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Giles County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Half Way, with the one closest to Half Way listed first.
- Kire
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Kire is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kire
- Mountain Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Mountain Lake is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake
- Lurich
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lurich is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich
- Rich Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bluff City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Bluff City is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Pearisburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Pembroke
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Glen Lyn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Glen Lyn is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Lyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Eggleston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Newport
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Newport is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Narrows
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Half Way, see our County-by-County Page for Half Way.
Cemeteries Near Half Way ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Half Way.
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 Half Way - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Half Way covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Half Way, with the one closest to Half Way listed first.
- Hanger Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Alderson Fletcher Addition Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Lincoln Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Coffman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Harrah Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lebanon Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Morgan Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Pence Family Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Salem Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Adwell Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Suttle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suttle
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Suttle is located 12 miles [19.3 km]<3> to the west of Lewisburg.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2342096 <2>
- Green Hill Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Continue List (143 more) ...
- Richardson Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Greenbrier Memorial Gardens
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Old Stone Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
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 Half Way in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Half Way.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Half Way, with the one closest to Half Way listed first.
- Blaker Mills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Blaker Mills is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaker Mills
- Fort Spring
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Fort Spring is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Spring
- Alderson
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Wolfcreek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Wolfcreek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfcreek
- Rockland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Rockland is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
- Sinks Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Sinks Grove is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinks Grove
- Nickells Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Nickells Mill is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickells Mill
- Santifee ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Santifee is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santifee
- Riffe
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Riffe is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riffe
- Patton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Patton is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patton
- Ronceverte
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Asbury
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Pickaway
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pickaway is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickaway
- Monitor
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Monitor is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- Clayton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Clayton is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Half Way. See our List of 1890's Communities around Half Way.
Newspapers Published in Half Way ...
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 Half Way.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Half Way, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Half Way.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Half Way:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Greenbrier County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fayette County
- Logan County
- Mercer County
- Monroe County
- Nicholas County
- Raleigh County
- Summers County
- Alleghany County
- Craig County
- Giles 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Half Way) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Half Way, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |