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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 Holly (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 Holly. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 north 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.

Holly is located in Kanawha 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 Kanawha County: Boone, Clay, Fayette, Jackson, Lincoln, Nicholas, Putnam, Raleigh & Roane.

Below are the counties that are near Holly. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Holly:

  • Kanawha County     (The home county of Holly)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holly, with the one closest to Holly listed first.
    • Acme
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Acme is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
    • Eskdale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Eskdale is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskdale
    • Carbon
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Carbon is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
    • Ronda
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Ronda is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ronda
    • Dry Branch
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
    • Cabin Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Cabin Creek is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabin Creek
    • Chelyan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Chelyan is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelyan
    • Hollygrove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Hollygrove is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollygrove
      • Hollygrove has also been known as:
      • Hollygrove Station
      • Hudnall
    • Handley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Handley is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
    • East Bank
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • East Bank is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bank
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
    • Glasgow
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Hugheston
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Hugheston is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugheston
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holly, with the one closest to Holly listed first.
    • Joes Creek
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Joes Creek is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joes Creek
    • Orgas
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Orgas is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orgas
    • Elk Run Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Elk Run Junction is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Run Junction
    • Janie
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Janie is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janie
      • Former name for Janie:
      • Mordue
    • Sylvester
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Whitesville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Whitesville is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 416 people
      • Former names for Whitesville:
      • Jarrods Valley
      • Pritchard City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitesville <1>
    • Coopertown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Coopertown is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopertown
    • Keith
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Keith is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keith
    • Fosterville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Fosterville is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosterville
    • Cabot
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Cabot is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabot
    • Kirbyton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Kirbyton is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyton
    • Milltown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Milltown is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holly, with the one closest to Holly listed first.
    • Bomont
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bomont is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bomont
    • Porter
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Porter is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holly, with the one closest to Holly listed first.
    • Elkridge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Elkridge is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkridge
    • Powellton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Powellton is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
    • McDunn
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • McDunn is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDunn
    • Kimberly
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Kimberly is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimberly
    • Crescent
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Crescent is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
    • Montgomery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Carbon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Carbon is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carbon
    • Smithers
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Cannelton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Cannelton is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannelton
    • Falls View
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Falls View is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls View
    • Wriston
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Wriston is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wriston
    • Roseville ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Roseville is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holly, with the one closest to Holly listed first.
    • Alum Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Priestley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Priestley is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priestley
    • Sod
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Sod is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sod
    • Alkol
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Alkol is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkol
    • East ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • East is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East
    • Tango
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Tango is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tango
    • Garretts Bend
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Garretts Bend is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garretts Bend
    • Yawkey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Yawkey is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yawkey
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holly, with the one closest to Holly listed first.
    • Sodom
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Sodom is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sodom
    • Braeholm
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Braeholm is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braeholm
    • Accoville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Accoville is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Accoville
    • Fort Branch
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Fort Branch is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Branch
    • Kistler
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Kistler is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
    • Mineral City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Mineral City is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
    • Banco
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Banco is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banco
  • Nicholas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holly, with the one closest to Holly listed first.
    • Dixie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Dixie is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
    • Beech Glen
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Beech Glen is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Glen
    • Albion ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Albion is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
    • Tipton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Tipton is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
    • Keslers Cross Lanes
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
    • Zela
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Zela is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
  • Raleigh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holly, with the one closest to Holly listed first.
    • Dorothy
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Dorothy is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorothy
    • Packsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Packsville is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packsville
    • Stickney
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Stickney is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stickney
    • Montcoal
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Montcoal is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcoal
    • Naoma
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Naoma is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naoma
    • Pineknob
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Pineknob is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineknob
    • Rock Creek
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Rock Creek is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
    • Arnett
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Zada
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Zada is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zada
    • Redbird
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Redbird is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbird
    • Sweeneyburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Sweeneyburg is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweeneyburg
    • Bradley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Bradley is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holly, with the one closest to Holly listed first.
    • Kopperston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Kopperston is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kopperston
    • Oceana
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Turkey
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Turkey is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey
    • Keyrock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Keyrock is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyrock

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Holly, see our County-by-County Page for Holly.

Cemeteries Near Holly ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Holly.

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 Holly - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Holly covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Holly, with the one closest to Holly listed first.

  • Sight Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Danville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Perry Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Sycamore Branch Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Foster Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Stanley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Pettry Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Little White Oak Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little White Oak Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Little White Oak Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the northeast of Orgas.
    • The Little White Oak Cemetery has also been known as:
    • White Oak Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #80281 <3>
  • Mordue Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (601 more) ...
    • Union Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Union Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Dorothy
      • The Union Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Lawson Cemetery
    • Estep - Bailey Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Craig Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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 Holly in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Holly.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Holly, with the one closest to Holly listed first.

  • Acme
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Acme is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
  • Decota
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Decota is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decota
  • Powellton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Powellton is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
  • Jarrolds Valley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jarrolds Valley is located in Raleigh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarrolds Valley
  • Dry Branch
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
  • Kincaid
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Kincaid is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kincaid
  • Handley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Handley is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
  • Crown Hill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Crown Hill is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown Hill
  • Nelson
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Nelson is located in Boone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
  • East Bank
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • East Bank is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bank
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
  • Winifrede Junction
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Winifrede Junction is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winifrede Junction
  • Mossy
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Mossy is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mossy
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Deep Water
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Deep Water is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Water
    • Mount Carbon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Carbon is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carbon
    • Eagle
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Eagle is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Holly. See our List of 1890's Communities around Holly.

Newspapers Published in Holly ...

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 9 newspapers that have been published in the area around Holly.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Holly, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Holly.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Holly:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Holly) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 Holly, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.