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 Keenan (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 Keenan. 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 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.
Keenan is located in Monroe 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 Monroe County: Alleghany (VA), Craig (VA), Giles (VA), Greenbrier & Summers.
Below are the counties that are near Keenan. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Keenan:
- Monroe County (The home county of Keenan)
- The following are listed by their distance from Keenan, with the one closest to Keenan listed first.
- Hillsdale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Hillsdale is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Hollywood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hollywood is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
- Union
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Union is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Population from the 2020 Census: 539 people
- Wolfcreek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wolfcreek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfcreek
- Wikel
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wikel is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wikel
- Assurance
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Assurance is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assurance
- Creamery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Creamery is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Wayside
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Wayside is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside
- Ballard
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ballard is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
- Peterstown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keenan, with the one closest to Keenan listed first.
- Spring Dale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Dale is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Dale
- Meadow Bridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Meadow Bridge is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Bridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Bellwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bellwood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
- Greenbrier County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keenan, with the one closest to Keenan listed first.
- Rockland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Rockland is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
- Fort Spring
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Fort Spring is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Spring
- Frazier
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Frazier is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier
- Ronceverte
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Fairlea
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Alderson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Caldwell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Lewisburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Tuckahoe
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tuckahoe is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckahoe
- White Sulphur Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Brink ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Brink is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brink
- Richlands
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Richlands is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richlands
- Logan County
- Rich Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Rich Creek is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
- Mercer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keenan, with the one closest to Keenan listed first.
- Elgood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Elgood is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgood
- Willowton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Willowton is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowton
- Raleigh County
- Abraham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Abraham is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abraham
- Summers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keenan, with the one closest to Keenan listed first.
- Riffe
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Riffe is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riffe
- Lowell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Lowell is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Bargers Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Bargers Springs is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bargers Springs
- Talcott
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Forest Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Hilldale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Hilldale is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
- Buck
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Buck is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
- Bellepoint
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Bellepoint is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellepoint
- Hinton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Mercers Saltworks ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Mercers Saltworks is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercers Saltworks
- Packs Ferry
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Packs Ferry is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry
- Brooklin
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Brooklin is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
- Alleghany County (VA)
- Moss Run
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Moss Run is located in Alleghany County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Run
- Botetourt County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Keenan, with the one closest to Keenan listed first.
- Oriskany
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Haymakertown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Haymakertown is located in Botetourt County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haymakertown
- Covington City (VA)
- Covington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Craig County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Keenan, with the one closest to Keenan listed first.
- Captain
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Captain is located in Craig County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Captain
- Simmonsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Simmonsville is located in Craig County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmonsville
- Huffman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Huffman is located in Craig County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- New Castle
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Abbott
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Abbott is located in Craig County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- Giles County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Keenan, with the one closest to Keenan listed first.
- Kire
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Kire is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kire
- Mountain Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Mountain Lake is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake
- Newport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Newport is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Pembroke
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Eggleston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Goodwins Ferry
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Goodwins Ferry is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwins Ferry
- Bluff City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bluff City is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Pearisburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rich Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Lurich
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lurich is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich
- Narrows
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Glen Lyn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Glen Lyn is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Lyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Montgomery County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Keenan, with the one closest to Keenan listed first.
- Mount Tabor Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Mount Tabor Village is located in Montgomery County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tabor Village
- Bennetts Mill
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bennetts Mill is located in Montgomery County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennetts Mill
- Sundance Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Sundance Village is located in Montgomery County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sundance Village
- Blacksburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- McBryde Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- McBryde Village is located in Montgomery County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBryde Village
- Prices Fork
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Prices Fork is located in Montgomery County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prices Fork
- Ellett
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Ellett is located in Montgomery County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellett
- Merrimac
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Merrimac is located in Montgomery County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
- Elliston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Houchins
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Houchins is located in Montgomery County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houchins
- Montgomery
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Montgomery is located in Montgomery County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Pulaski County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Keenan, with the one closest to Keenan listed first.
- Parrott
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Parrott is located in Pulaski County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrott
- Cowan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Cowan is located in Pulaski County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
- Fairlawn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Fairlawn is located in Pulaski County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn
- Roanoke County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Keenan, with the one closest to Keenan listed first.
- Moomaw ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Moomaw is located in Roanoke County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moomaw
- Catawba
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mason Cove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mason Cove is located in Roanoke County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Cove
- Riverside
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Riverside is located in Roanoke County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Wabun
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wabun is located in Roanoke County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabun
- Hanging Rock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hanging Rock is located in Roanoke County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanging Rock
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Keenan, see our County-by-County Page for Keenan.
Cemeteries Near Keenan ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Keenan.
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 Keenan - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Keenan covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Keenan, with the one closest to Keenan listed first.
- Old Rehobeth Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Green Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Lebanon Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Gap Mills Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ballard Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dropping Lick Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dropping Lick Cemetery
- The Dropping Lick Cemetery has also been known as:
- Dropping Lick UMC Cemetery
- Lincoln Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- New Zion Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Salem Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Ballard - Harvey Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fortner Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (179 more) ...
- Swope Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Kire Community Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bostic Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Keenan had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Keenan, with the one closest to Keenan listed first.
- Hollywood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hollywood is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
- Hillsdale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Hillsdale is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Pickaway
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Pickaway is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickaway
- Union
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Union is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Population from the 2020 Census: 539 people
- Salt Sulphur Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Salt Sulphur Springs is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Sulphur Springs
- Crimson Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Crimson Springs is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crimson Springs
- Gap Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Monitor
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Monitor is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- Knobs
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Knobs is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knobs
- Zenith
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Zenith is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenith
- Sinks Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sinks Grove is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinks Grove
- Patton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Patton is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patton
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Lillydale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Lillydale is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lillydale
- Nickells Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Nickells Mill is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickells Mill
- Rock Camp
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Rock Camp is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Camp
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Keenan. See our List of 1890's Communities around Keenan.
Newspapers Published in Keenan ...
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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Keenan.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Keenan, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Keenan.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Keenan:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Monroe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fayette County
- Greenbrier County
- Logan County
- Mercer County
- Raleigh County
- Summers County
- Alleghany County
- Botetourt County
- Covington City
- Craig County
- Giles County
- Montgomery County
- Pulaski County
- Roanoke 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 Keenan, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Keenan) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |