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 Joppa (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 Joppa. 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.
Joppa is located in Braxton 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 Braxton County: Calhoun, Clay, Gilmer, Lewis, Nicholas & Webster.
Below are the counties that are near Joppa. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Joppa:
- Braxton County (The home county of Joppa)
- The following are listed by their distance from Joppa, with the one closest to Joppa listed first.
- Knawl
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Knawl is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knawl
- Milroy
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Milroy is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milroy
- Falls Mill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Falls Mill is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mill
- Bulltown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bulltown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulltown
- Napier
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Napier is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napier
- Corley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Corley is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Orlando
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Orlando is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orlando
- Heaters
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Rollyson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Rollyson is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollyson
- Flatwoods
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Palmer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Palmer is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
- Burnsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Barbour County
- Audra
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Audra is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Audra
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Joppa, with the one closest to Joppa listed first.
- Losie ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Losie is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Losie
- Staten
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Staten is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staten
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Joppa, with the one closest to Joppa listed first.
- Wattsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wattsville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Ira
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Widen
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Widen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widen
- Lydia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Lydia is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lydia
- Doddridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Joppa, with the one closest to Joppa listed first.
- Saint Clara
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Clara is located in Doddridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clara
- Coldwater
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Coldwater is located in Doddridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Big Isaac
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Big Isaac is located in Doddridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Isaac
- Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Grove is located in Doddridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove
- Avon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Avon is located in Doddridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Gilmer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Joppa, with the one closest to Joppa listed first.
- Stouts Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Stouts Mills is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stouts Mills
- Sand Fork
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Fork is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Fork
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Truebada
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Truebada is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truebada
- Cedarville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Cedarville is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Baldwin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Baldwin is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Glenville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Troy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Troy is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- Alice
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Alice is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
- Normantown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Conings
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Conings is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conings
- Shock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Shock is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shock
- De Kalb
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- De Kalb is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Kalb
- Harrison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Joppa, with the one closest to Joppa listed first.
- McWhorter
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- McWhorter is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McWhorter
- Lost Creek
(27 miles [43.5 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
- Tichenal
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Tichenal is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tichenal
- West Milford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- West Milford is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Milford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 609 people
- Craigmoor
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Craigmoor is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigmoor
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Joppa, with the one closest to Joppa listed first.
- Duffy
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Duffy is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffy
- Crawford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Crawford is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Alkires Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Alkires Mills is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkires Mills
- Garton Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Garton Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garton Village
- Cox Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Cox Town is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox Town
- Weston
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Camden
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Camden is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
- Smith Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Smith Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Village
- Berlin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Berlin is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Alum Bridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Alum Bridge is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alum Bridge
- Aberdeen
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Aberdeen is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberdeen
- Vadis
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Vadis is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vadis
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Joppa, with the one closest to Joppa listed first.
- Birch River
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Tioga
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Joppa, with the one closest to Joppa listed first.
- Helvetia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Florence ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Florence is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Pickens
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cassity
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Cassity is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassity
- Midvale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Midvale is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
- Monterville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Huff ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Huff is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huff
- Lee Bell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Lee Bell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Bell
- Blue Spring
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Blue Spring is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Spring
- Elkwater
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Elkwater is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkwater
- Huttonsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Mill Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Mill Creek is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 681 people
- Ritchie County
- Auburn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Auburn is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
- Upshur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Joppa, with the one closest to Joppa listed first.
- Kanawha Head
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Kanawha Head is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha Head
- Wilsontown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Wilsontown is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsontown
- Rock Cave
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Cave is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Cave
- Frenchton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Frenchton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchton
- Goshen
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Goshen is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Hoover Town
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hoover Town is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover Town
- Abbott
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Abbott is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- Alexander
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Alexander is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- Alton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Alton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Adrian
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Adrian is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adrian
- Beans Mill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Beans Mill is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Mill
- Sago
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sago is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sago
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Joppa, with the one closest to Joppa listed first.
- Replete
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Replete is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Replete
- Cleveland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hacker Valley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Big Run
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Big Run is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Orndoff
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Orndoff is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orndoff
- Erbacon
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Erbacon is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erbacon
- Addison
(21 miles [33.8 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
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Ralph is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ralph
- Excelsior
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Excelsior is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Halo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Halo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halo
- Cowen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Upperglade
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Upperglade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upperglade
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Joppa, see our County-by-County Page for Joppa.
Cemeteries Near Joppa ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Joppa.
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 Joppa - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Joppa covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Joppa, with the one closest to Joppa listed first.
- Green Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Gregory Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Pickens Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Gibson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Kraft Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Knawl Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Highwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Fisher Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kniceley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Fleming Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Chop Fork Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (306 more) ...
- Big Run Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hamner Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hamner Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
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 Joppa in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Joppa.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Joppa, with the one closest to Joppa listed first.
- Hettie
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Hettie is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hettie
- Duffy
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Duffy is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffy
- Ireland
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Milroy
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Milroy is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milroy
- Little Wildcat ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Little Wildcat is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Wildcat
- Falls Mill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Falls Mill is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mill
- Bulltown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bulltown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulltown
- Replete
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Replete is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Replete
- Corley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Corley is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Caress
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Caress is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caress
- Cleveland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Boyd ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Boyd is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Walkersville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Walkersville is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkersville
- Jacksonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Jacksonville is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Kanawha Head
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Kanawha Head is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha Head
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Joppa. See our List of 1890's Communities around Joppa.
Newspapers Published in Joppa ...
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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Joppa.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Joppa, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Joppa.
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 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 Joppa:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Braxton County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barbour County
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Doddridge County
- Gilmer County
- Harrison County
- Lewis County
- Nicholas County
- Randolph County
- Ritchie 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Joppa) 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 Joppa, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |