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 Harding (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 Harding. 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 and hospitals 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.
Harding is located in Randolph 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 Randolph County: Barbour, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Tucker, Upshur & Webster.
Below are the counties that are near Harding. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Harding:
- Randolph County (The home county of Harding)
- The following are listed by their distance from Harding, with the one closest to Harding listed first.
- Weaver
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Weaver is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Tigheville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Tigheville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tigheville
- Womelsdorf
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Womelsdorf is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womelsdorf
- Population from the 2020 Census: 235 people
- Leadsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Leadsville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadsville
- Elkins
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Gilman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Gilman is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilman
- Whyte
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Whyte is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whyte
- Midvale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Midvale is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
- Canfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Canfield is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Beverly
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cassity
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cassity is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassity
- Montrose
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Montrose is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
- Barbour County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harding, with the one closest to Harding listed first.
- Junior
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Junior is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junior
- Population from the 2020 Census: 483 people
- Belington
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Wilmoth ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Wilmoth is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmoth
- Valley Bend
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Clements ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Clements is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clements
- Huffman ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Huffman is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Audra
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Audra is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Audra
- Calhoun
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Calhoun is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhoun
- Union
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Union is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Vannoys Mill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Vannoys Mill is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vannoys Mill
- Tygart Junction
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Tygart Junction is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tygart Junction
- Kalamazoo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Kalamazoo is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalamazoo
- Harrison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harding, with the one closest to Harding listed first.
- Craigmoor
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Craigmoor is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigmoor
- Lost Creek
(25 miles [40.2 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
- McWhorter
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- McWhorter is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McWhorter
- Quiet Dell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Quiet Dell is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quiet Dell
- Anmoore
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stonewood
(27 miles [43.5 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
- Bridgeport
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Despard
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Despard is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Despard
- Nutter Fort
(29 miles [46.7 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
- West Milford
(29 miles [46.7 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
- Clarksburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harding, with the one closest to Harding listed first.
- Aberdeen
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Aberdeen is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberdeen
- Berlin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Berlin is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Garton Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Garton Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garton Village
- Jane Lew
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Alkires Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Alkires Mills is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkires Mills
- Crawford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Crawford is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Duffy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Duffy is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffy
- Cox Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Cox Town is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox Town
- Smith Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Smith Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Village
- Westfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Westfield is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
- Weston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Lightburn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lightburn is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lightburn
- Pendleton County
- Onego
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Onego is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onego
- Pocahontas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harding, with the one closest to Harding listed first.
- Wildell
(19 miles [30.6 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 south)
- Frank
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Frank is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frank
- Thornwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Thornwood is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornwood
- Preston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harding, with the one closest to Harding listed first.
- Macomber
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Macomber is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macomber
- Sell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sell is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sell
- Newburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Taylor County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harding, with the one closest to Harding listed first.
- Sandy ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Sandy is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
- Stone House ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Stone House is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone House
- Astor
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Astor is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astor
- Brydon
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Brydon is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brydon
- Flemington
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Flemington is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flemington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
- Webster
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Webster is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Yates ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Yates is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates
- Knottsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Knottsville is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knottsville
- Grafton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Pruntytown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Pruntytown is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pruntytown
- Thornton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Thornton is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
- West Grafton
(27 miles [43.5 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 Harding, with the one closest to Harding listed first.
- Pleasant Run
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Run is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Run
- Porterwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Porterwood is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porterwood
- Parsons
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Hambleton
(19 miles [30.6 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
(19 miles [30.6 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
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Gladwin is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladwin
- Elk
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Elk is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk
- Canaan Valley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Coketon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Coketon is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coketon
- Pierce
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pierce is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce
- Thomas
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Davis
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Upshur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harding, with the one closest to Harding listed first.
- Gormley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Gormley is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gormley
- Swamp Run
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Swamp Run is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swamp Run
- Excelsior
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Excelsior is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Sand Run
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Sand Run is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Run
- Overhill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Overhill is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overhill
- Queens
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Queens is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queens
- Tallmansville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Reger
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Reger is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reger
- Teter
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Teter is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teter
- Sellers ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sellers is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
- Tenmile
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Tenmile is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
- Buckhannon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harding, with the one closest to Harding listed first.
- Cleveland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hacker Valley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Harding, see our County-by-County Page for Harding.
Cemeteries Near Harding ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Harding.
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 Harding - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Harding covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Harding, with the one closest to Harding listed first.
- Coffman / Harding Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Durrett Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Maplewood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Old Rights Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Elliott Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Little Arlington Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Arlington Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Little Arlington Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Leadsville.
- The Little Arlington Cemetery has also been known as:
- American Legion Little Arlington Cemetery
- Lovett Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- IOOF Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for IOOF Cemetery
- The IOOF Cemetery has also been known as:
- Elkins Memorial Gardens
- Odd Fellows Cemetery
- St. Brendens Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Coffman Chapel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mountain State Memorial Gardens
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Continue List (213 more) ...
- Mt. Nebo Methodist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Holbert Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Beverly Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
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 Harding in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Harding.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Harding, with the one closest to Harding listed first.
- Talbott
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Talbott is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talbott
- Kingsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Kingsville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsville
- Leadsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Leadsville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadsville
- Belington
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Middle Fork ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Middle Fork is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Fork
- Wilmoth ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Wilmoth is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmoth
- Elkins
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Gilman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Gilman is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilman
- Whyte
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Whyte is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whyte
- Beverly
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Kerens
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Kerens is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerens
- Huffman ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Huffman is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Flora ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Flora is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flora
- Swamp Run
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Swamp Run is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swamp Run
- Sand Run
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Sand Run is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Run
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Harding. See our List of 1890's Communities around Harding.
Newspapers Published in Harding ...
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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Harding.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Harding, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Harding.
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 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 Harding:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Randolph County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barbour County
- Harrison County
- Lewis County
- Pendleton County
- Pocahontas County
- Preston County
- Taylor County
- Tucker 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> | 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 Harding, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Harding) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |