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 Imperial (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 Imperial. 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.
Imperial is located in Upshur 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 Upshur County: Barbour, Harrison, Lewis, Randolph & Webster.
Below are the counties that are near Imperial. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Imperial:
- Upshur County (The home county of Imperial)
- The following are listed by their distance from Imperial, with the one closest to Imperial listed first.
- Sellers ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Sellers is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
- Tenmile
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Tenmile is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
- Beans Mill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Beans Mill is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Mill
- Queens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Queens is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queens
- Sago
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Sago is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sago
- Tallmansville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Alton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Alton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Adrian
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Adrian is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adrian
- Alexander
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Alexander is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- Hoover Town
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hoover Town is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover Town
- Sand Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sand Run is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Run
- Abbott
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Abbott is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- Barbour County
- The following are listed by their distance from Imperial, with the one closest to Imperial listed first.
- Audra
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Audra is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Audra
- Junior
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Junior is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junior
- Population from the 2020 Census: 483 people
- Clements ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Clements is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clements
- Wilmoth ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wilmoth is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmoth
- Tygart Junction
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tygart Junction is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tygart Junction
- Belington
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Union
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Union is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Valley Bend
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Elk City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Elk City is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk City
- Calhoun
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Calhoun is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhoun
- Wellington Heights
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Wellington Heights is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellington Heights
- Huffman ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Huffman is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Braxton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Imperial, with the one closest to Imperial listed first.
- Knawl
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Knawl is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knawl
- Milroy
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Milroy is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milroy
- Falls Mill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Falls Mill is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mill
- Bulltown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Bulltown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulltown
- Orlando
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Orlando is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orlando
- Napier
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Napier is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napier
- Corley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Corley is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Burnsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Heaters
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Rollyson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Rollyson is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollyson
- Palmer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Palmer is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
- Flatwoods
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Doddridge County
- Big Isaac
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Big Isaac is located in Doddridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Isaac
- Gilmer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Imperial, with the one closest to Imperial listed first.
- Stouts Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Stouts Mills is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stouts Mills
- Sand Fork
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Sand Fork is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Fork
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Baldwin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Baldwin is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Truebada
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Truebada is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truebada
- Harrison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Imperial, with the one closest to Imperial listed first.
- McWhorter
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- McWhorter is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McWhorter
- Lost Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Lost Creek is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 462 people
- Craigmoor
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Craigmoor is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigmoor
- Quiet Dell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Quiet Dell is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quiet Dell
- West Milford
(25 miles [40.2 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
- Tichenal
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Tichenal is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tichenal
- Anmoore
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Stonewood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Stonewood is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonewood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,702 people
- Nutter Fort
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Nutter Fort is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutter Fort
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,501 people
- Clarksburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Despard
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Despard is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Despard
- Adamston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Adamston is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamston
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Imperial, with the one closest to Imperial listed first.
- Crawford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Crawford is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Duffy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Duffy is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffy
- Aberdeen
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Aberdeen is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberdeen
- Garton Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Garton Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garton Village
- Alkires Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Alkires Mills is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkires Mills
- Berlin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Berlin is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Cox Town
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Cox Town is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox Town
- Weston
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Smith Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Smith Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Village
- Jane Lew
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Westfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Westfield is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
- Lightburn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lightburn is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lightburn
- Pocahontas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Imperial, with the one closest to Imperial listed first.
- Wildell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wildell is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildell
- Durbin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Frank
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Frank is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frank
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Imperial, with the one closest to Imperial listed first.
- Midvale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Midvale is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
- Cassity
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Cassity is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassity
- Helvetia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Huff ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Huff is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huff
- Womelsdorf
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Womelsdorf is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womelsdorf
- Population from the 2020 Census: 235 people
- Pickens
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Florence ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Florence is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Huttonsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mill Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mill Creek is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 681 people
- Weaver
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Weaver is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Lee Bell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lee Bell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Bell
- Beverly
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Taylor County
- The following are listed by their distance from Imperial, with the one closest to Imperial listed first.
- Astor
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Astor is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astor
- Flemington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Flemington is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flemington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
- Brydon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Brydon is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brydon
- Stone House ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Stone House is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone House
- Webster
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Webster is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Sandy ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sandy is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
- Tucker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Imperial, with the one closest to Imperial listed first.
- Pleasant Run
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Run is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Run
- Porterwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Porterwood is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porterwood
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Imperial, with the one closest to Imperial listed first.
- Cleveland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hacker Valley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Replete
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Replete is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Replete
- Big Run
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Big Run is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Orndoff
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Orndoff is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orndoff
- Addison
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Addison is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
- Ralph
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ralph is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ralph
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Imperial, see our County-by-County Page for Imperial.
Cemeteries Near Imperial ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Imperial.
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 Imperial - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Imperial covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Imperial, with the one closest to Imperial listed first.
- Tenmile Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Alton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Marple Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Maher Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lanham Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Reed Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hampton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Hampton Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the south of Buckhannon.
- The Hampton Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hampton UMC Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2176771 <3>
- Westfall Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (258 more) ...
- Simmons Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Long Run Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bailey Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.<4>
While we didn't find Imperial in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Imperial.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Imperial, with the one closest to Imperial listed first.
- Sellers ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Sellers is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
- Evergreen
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Evergreen is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Alton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Alton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Sago
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Sago is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sago
- Queens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Queens is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queens
- Tallmansville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kedron
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kedron is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kedron
- Alexander
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Alexander is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- Hampton
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hampton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- Ivy
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Ivy is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy
- Hinkleville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hinkleville is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkleville
- French Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Holly Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Holly Grove is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Grove
- Hemlock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hemlock is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock
- Sand Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- 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 Imperial. See our List of 1890's Communities around Imperial.
Newspapers Published in Imperial ...
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 15 newspapers that have been published in the area around Imperial.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Imperial, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Imperial.
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 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 Imperial:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Upshur County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barbour County
- Braxton County
- Doddridge County
- Gilmer County
- Harrison County
- Lewis County
- Pocahontas County
- Randolph County
- Taylor County
- Tucker 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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Imperial) 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 Imperial, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |