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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 Johns (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 Johns. 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 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 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.

Johns is located in Boone County.

To see how the shape of West Virginia's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Boone County: Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Raleigh & Wyoming.

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

  • Boone County     (The home county of Johns)
  • Cabell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johns, with the one closest to Johns listed first.
    • Culloden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Culloden have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culloden
      • Culloden is located in Cabell County
    • Milton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
      • Milton is located in Cabell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,523 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milton <2>
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johns, with the one closest to Johns listed first.
    • Elkridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elkridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkridge
      • Elkridge is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elkridge
      • From Johns to Elkridge
    • Montgomery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Powellton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Powellton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
      • Powellton is located in Fayette County
    • Crescent
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Crescent. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
      • Crescent is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Crescent
      • From Johns to Crescent
    • Kimberly
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Smithers
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smithers have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithers
      • Smithers is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 726 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Smithers <2>
    • Cannelton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • McDunn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Mount Carbon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mount Carbon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carbon
      • Mount Carbon is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mount Carbon
      • From Johns to Mount Carbon
    • Falls View
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Gauley Bridge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gauley Bridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gauley Bridge
      • Gauley Bridge is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 545 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gauley Bridge <2>
    • Pax
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pax have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pax
      • Pax is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
  • Kanawha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johns, with the one closest to Johns listed first.
    • Winifrede
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Marmet
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marmet have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marmet
      • Marmet is located in Kanawha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,351 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marmet <2>
    • Loudendale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Belle
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belle have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle
      • Belle is located in Kanawha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,108 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Belle <2>
    • Chesapeake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chesapeake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesapeake
      • Chesapeake is located in Kanawha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,393 people
    • Ruth
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ruth. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
      • Ruth is located in Kanawha County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ruth
      • From Johns to Ruth
    • Dupont City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dupont City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupont City
      • Dupont City is located in Kanawha County
    • Witcher
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Cabin Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Dry Branch
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Kanawha City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kanawha City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha City
      • Kanawha City is located in Kanawha County
    • Malden
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johns, with the one closest to Johns listed first.
    • Priestley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Alum Creek
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Sod
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Alkol
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • East ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East
      • East is located in Lincoln County
    • Tango
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tango. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tango
      • Tango is located in Lincoln County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tango
      • From Johns to Tango
    • Garretts Bend
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Yawkey
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Palermo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Sweetland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sweetland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetland
      • Sweetland is located in Lincoln County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sweetland
      • From Johns to Sweetland
    • Myra
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Spears ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spears have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spears
      • Spears is located in Lincoln County
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johns, with the one closest to Johns listed first.
    • Banco
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Big Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Chapmanville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Mitchell Heights
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mitchell Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell Heights
      • Mitchell Heights is located in Logan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 274 people
    • Fort Branch
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fort Branch. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Branch
      • Fort Branch is located in Logan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fort Branch
      • From Johns to Fort Branch
    • Peach Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • West Logan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Logan have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Logan
      • West Logan is located in Logan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Logan <2>
    • Logan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Accoville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Hedgeview
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Thompson Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thompson Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson Town
      • Thompson Town is located in Logan County
    • Wilkinson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Nicholas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johns, with the one closest to Johns listed first.
    • Dixie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Beech Glen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johns, with the one closest to Johns listed first.
    • Morgans Landing
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Poca
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poca have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poca
      • Poca is located in Putnam County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 963 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Poca <2>
    • Raymond City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raymond City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond City
      • Raymond City is located in Putnam County
    • Scott Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scott Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott Village
      • Scott Village is located in Putnam County
    • Teays Valley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Teays Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teays Valley
      • Teays Valley is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Teays Valley <2>
    • Teays Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Teays Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teays Village
      • Teays Village is located in Putnam County
    • Bancroft
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bancroft have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
      • Bancroft is located in Putnam County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 596 people
    • Hurricane
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Winfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Red House
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Eleanor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eleanor have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eleanor
      • Eleanor is located in Putnam County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,579 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eleanor <2>
    • Paradise
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Raleigh County
  • Wayne County
  • Wyoming County

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

Cemeteries Near Johns ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Johns.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

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.<7>

While we didn't find Johns in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Johns.

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

  • Peytona
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Racine
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Comfort
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Foster
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Nelson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nelson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
    • Nelson is located in Boone County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Nelson
    • From Johns to Nelson
  • Danville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Madison
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Winifrede
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Winifrede Junction
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winifrede Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winifrede Junction
    • Winifrede Junction is located in Kanawha County
  • Gordon
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Davis Creek
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davis Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Creek
    • Davis Creek is located in Kanawha County
  • Van
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Dry Branch
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Coalburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coalburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalburg
      • Coalburg is located in Kanawha County
    • Shrewsbury
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shrewsbury have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shrewsbury
      • Shrewsbury is located in Kanawha County

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

Newspapers Published in Johns ...

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 98 newspapers that have been published in the area around Johns.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Johns, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Johns.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Johns:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Johns. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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.
<5>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Johns) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Johns. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.1492, Longitude: -81.7016    
<6>If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<7>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 Johns, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025