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 Harpertown (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 Harpertown. 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 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.
Harpertown 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 Harpertown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Harpertown:
- Randolph County (The home county of Harpertown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpertown, with the one closest to Harpertown listed first.
- Leadsville
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Leadsville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadsville
- Elkins
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Gilman
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Gilman is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilman
- Canfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Canfield is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Whyte
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Whyte is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whyte
- Tigheville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Tigheville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tigheville
- Weaver
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Weaver is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Beverly
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Womelsdorf
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Womelsdorf is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womelsdorf
- Population from the 2020 Census: 235 people
- Montrose
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Montrose is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
- Pettit ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Pettit is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettit
- Evenwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Evenwood is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evenwood
- Wymer
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Wymer is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wymer
- Barbour County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpertown, with the one closest to Harpertown listed first.
- Junior
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Junior is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junior
- Population from the 2020 Census: 483 people
- Belington
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Huffman ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Huffman is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Wilmoth ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wilmoth is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmoth
- Valley Bend
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clements ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Clements is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clements
- Calhoun
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Calhoun is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhoun
- Kalamazoo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Kalamazoo is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalamazoo
- Audra
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Audra is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Audra
- Vannoys Mill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Vannoys Mill is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vannoys Mill
- Union
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Union is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Tygart Junction
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Tygart Junction is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tygart Junction
- Valley Furnace
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Valley Furnace is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Furnace
- Grant County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpertown, with the one closest to Harpertown listed first.
- Hopeville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Hopeville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeville
- Dobbin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Dobbin is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobbin
- Harrison County
- Craigmoor
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Craigmoor is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigmoor
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpertown, with the one closest to Harpertown listed first.
- Aberdeen
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Aberdeen is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberdeen
- Berlin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Berlin is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Garton Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Garton Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garton Village
- Pendleton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpertown, with the one closest to Harpertown listed first.
- Onego
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Onego is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onego
- Macksville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Macksville is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macksville
- Circleville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Dry Run
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dry Run is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Run
- Pocahontas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpertown, with the one closest to Harpertown listed first.
- Wildell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Wildell is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildell
- Thornwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Thornwood is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornwood
- Durbin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Frank
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Frank is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frank
- Preston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpertown, with the one closest to Harpertown listed first.
- Sell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sell is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sell
- Macomber
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Macomber is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macomber
- Horse Shoe Run
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Horse Shoe Run is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Shoe Run
- Rowlesburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Aurora
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Taylor County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpertown, with the one closest to Harpertown listed first.
- Sandy ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Sandy is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
- Stone House ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Stone House is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone House
- Knottsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Knottsville is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knottsville
- Yates ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Yates is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates
- Astor
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Astor is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astor
- Brydon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Brydon is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brydon
- Webster
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Webster is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Flemington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Flemington is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flemington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
- Thornton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Thornton is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
- Grafton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- West Grafton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- West Grafton is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Grafton
- Fetterman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Fetterman is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fetterman
- Pruntytown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pruntytown is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pruntytown
- Tucker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpertown, with the one closest to Harpertown listed first.
- Pleasant Run
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Run is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Run
- Porterwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Porterwood is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porterwood
- Parsons
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hambleton
(14 miles [22.5 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
(14 miles [22.5 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
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Gladwin is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladwin
- Elk
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Elk is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk
- Canaan Valley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Coketon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Coketon is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coketon
- Davis
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Pierce
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Pierce is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce
- Thomas
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Upshur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpertown, with the one closest to Harpertown listed first.
- Swamp Run
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Swamp Run is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swamp Run
- Gormley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Gormley is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gormley
- Sand Run
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Sand Run is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Run
- Excelsior
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Excelsior is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Overhill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Overhill is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overhill
- Queens
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Queens is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queens
- Tallmansville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Teter
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Teter is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teter
- Reger
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Reger is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reger
- Sellers ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Sellers is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
- Tenmile
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Tenmile is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
- Beans Mill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Beans Mill is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Mill
- Alton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Alton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Harpertown, see our County-by-County Page for Harpertown.
Cemeteries Near Harpertown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Harpertown.
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 Harpertown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Harpertown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Harpertown, with the one closest to Harpertown listed first.
- Little Arlington Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- 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
- Maplewood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- St. Brendens Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- IOOF Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for IOOF Cemetery
- The IOOF Cemetery has also been known as:
- Elkins Memorial Gardens
- Odd Fellows Cemetery
- Coffman Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Mountain State Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Beverly Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mt. Iser Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Elliott Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Old Rights Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Coffman / Harding Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (155 more) ...
- Stalnaker Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Leading Creek Primitive Baptist Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Durrett Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
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 Harpertown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Harpertown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Harpertown, with the one closest to Harpertown listed first.
- Leadsville
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Leadsville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadsville
- Elkins
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Gilman
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Gilman is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilman
- Whyte
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Whyte is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whyte
- Kerens
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Kerens is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerens
- Faulkner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Faulkner is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faulkner
- Beverly
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Belington
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pettit ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Pettit is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettit
- Montrose
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Montrose is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
- Huffman ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Huffman is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Pleasant Run
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Run is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Run
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Talbott
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Talbott is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talbott
- Alpena
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Alpena is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpena
- Flora ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Flora is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flora
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Harpertown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Harpertown.
Newspapers Published in Harpertown ...
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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Harpertown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Harpertown, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Harpertown.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Harpertown:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Randolph County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barbour County
- Grant County
- Harrison County
- Lewis County
- Pendleton County
- Pocahontas County
- Preston County
- Taylor County
- Tucker 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 Harpertown, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Harpertown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |