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 Kessel (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 Kessel. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Kessel is located in Hardy 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 Hardy County: Frederick (VA), Rockingham (VA), Shenandoah (VA), Grant, Hampshire & Pendleton.
Below are the counties that are near Kessel. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Kessel:
- Hardy County (The home county of Kessel)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kessel, with the one closest to Kessel listed first.
- Moorefield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Durgon
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Durgon is located in Hardy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durgon
- Fort Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Fort Run is located in Hardy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Run
- Lost City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Baker
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Baker is located in Hardy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
- Inkerman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Inkerman is located in Hardy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inkerman
- Peru
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Peru is located in Hardy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
- Mathias
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wardensville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Grant County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kessel, with the one closest to Kessel listed first.
- Lahmansville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lahmansville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lahmansville
- Arthur
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Arthur is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
- Seymourville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Seymourville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymourville
- Medley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Petersburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Maysville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Maysville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
- Greenland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Greenland is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
- Dorcas
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Dorcas is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorcas
- Pansy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Pansy is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pansy
- Seemly ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Seemly is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seemly
- Hopeville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hopeville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeville
- Bayard
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bayard is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Hampshire County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kessel, with the one closest to Kessel listed first.
- Junction
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Junction is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
- Romney
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Augusta
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Vance
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Vance is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
- Sedan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sedan is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedan
- Wapocomo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wapocomo is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapocomo
- Yellow Spring
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Ritters
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ritters is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritters
- Three Churches
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Three Churches is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Churches
- Mineral County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kessel, with the one closest to Kessel listed first.
- Hartmansville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Hartmansville is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartmansville
- Burlington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Sulphur City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Sulphur City is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur City
- New Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Schell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Schell is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
- Elk Garden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Harrison
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Harrison is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Headsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Headsville is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
- Shaw
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Shaw is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
- Keyser
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Windom ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Windom is located in Mineral County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
- Piedmont
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Pendleton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kessel, with the one closest to Kessel listed first.
- Ketterman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ketterman is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ketterman
- Brushy Run
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Brushy Run is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Run
- Kline
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kline is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kline
- Onego
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Onego is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onego
- Fort Seybert
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Fort Seybert is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Seybert
- Macksville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Macksville is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macksville
- Ruddle
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ruddle is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruddle
- Preston County
- Horse Shoe Run
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Horse Shoe Run is located in Preston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Shoe Run
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kessel, with the one closest to Kessel listed first.
- Harperton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Harperton is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harperton
- Dryfork
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Harman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Tucker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kessel, with the one closest to Kessel listed first.
- Canaan Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Davis
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Coketon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Coketon is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coketon
- Thomas
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Pierce
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Pierce is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce
- Elk
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Elk is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk
- Gladwin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Gladwin is located in Tucker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladwin
- Allegany County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kessel, with the one closest to Kessel listed first.
- Luke
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Luke is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luke
- Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
- Westernport
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Garrett County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kessel, with the one closest to Kessel listed first.
- Schell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Schell is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
- Kitzmiller
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Fort Pendleton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Pendleton is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Pendleton
- Wilson
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Wilson is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Bloomington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Bloomington is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
- Altamont
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Altamont is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
- Red House
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Red House is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red House
- Swanton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Deer Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Loch Lynn Heights
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Loch Lynn Heights is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loch Lynn Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 525 people
- Mountain Lake Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain Lake Park is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,065 people
- Oakland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Oakland is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,803 people
- Rockingham County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kessel, with the one closest to Kessel listed first.
- Criders
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Criders is located in Rockingham County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Criders
- Tunis
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Tunis is located in Rockingham County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunis
- Fulks Run
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Fulks Run is located in Rockingham County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulks Run
- Shenandoah County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kessel, with the one closest to Kessel listed first.
- Basye - Bryce Mountain
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jerome
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jerome is located in Shenandoah County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
- Orkney Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Columbia Furnace
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Columbia Furnace is located in Shenandoah County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia Furnace
- Mount Clifton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Clifton is located in Shenandoah County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Clifton
- Zepp
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Zepp is located in Shenandoah County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zepp
- Calvary
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Calvary is located in Shenandoah County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary
- Rinkerton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rinkerton is located in Shenandoah County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rinkerton
- Edinburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Jackson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Kessel, see our County-by-County Page for Kessel.
Cemeteries Near Kessel ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kessel.
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 Kessel - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Kessel covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Kessel, with the one closest to Kessel listed first.
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Olivet Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Baldwin Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mt. Hebron Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Burlington Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- South Branch Memorial Gardens
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Green Hill Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- New Dale Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Old Pine Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Knobley Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (198 more) ...
- Greenwood Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Canon Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Ferrbee Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 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.<3>
While we didn't find Kessel in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Kessel.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Kessel, with the one closest to Kessel listed first.
- Moorefield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Seymourville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Seymourville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymourville
- Lahmansville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lahmansville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lahmansville
- Arthur
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Arthur is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
- Old Fields
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Old Fields is located in Hardy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Fields
- Petersburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Maysville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Maysville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
- Medley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Williamsport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Williamsport is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsport
- Martin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Martin is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
- Fabius ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Fabius is located in Hardy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fabius
- Greenland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Greenland is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Masonville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Masonville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masonville
- Jordan Run
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Jordan Run is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan Run
- Doman ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Doman is located in Hardy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doman
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Kessel. See our List of 1890's Communities around Kessel.
Newspapers Published in Kessel ...
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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kessel.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kessel, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Kessel.
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 Kessel:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Hardy County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Grant County
- Hampshire County
- Mineral County
- Pendleton County
- Preston County
- Randolph County
- Tucker County
- Allegany County
- Garrett County
- Rockingham County
- Shenandoah 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 Kessel, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Kessel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |