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Home >> State of West Virginia >> Mineral County >> Laurel Dale >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Laurel Dale (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 Laurel Dale. 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 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.

Laurel Dale is located in Mineral 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 Mineral County: Allegany (MD), Garrett (MD), Grant, Hampshire & Hardy.

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

  • Mineral County     (The home county of Laurel Dale)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Dale, with the one closest to Laurel Dale listed first.
    • Sulphur City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Sulphur City is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur City
    • Hartmansville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Hartmansville is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartmansville
    • New Creek
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Elk Garden
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Shaw
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Shaw is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
    • Harrison
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Harrison is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
    • Burlington
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Schell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Schell is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
    • Windom ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Windom is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
    • Keyser
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Piedmont
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Headsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Headsville is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Dale, with the one closest to Laurel Dale listed first.
    • Greenland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Greenland is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
    • Medley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Lahmansville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Lahmansville is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lahmansville
    • Maysville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Maysville is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
    • Bayard
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Bayard is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayard
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
    • Arthur
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Arthur is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
    • Wilson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Wilson is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
    • Seymourville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Seymourville is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymourville
    • Dobbin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Dobbin is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobbin
    • Petersburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Dorcas
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Dorcas is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorcas
    • Hopeville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Hopeville is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeville
  • Hampshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Dale, with the one closest to Laurel Dale listed first.
    • Junction
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Junction is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
    • Romney
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Romney is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,680 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Romney <1>
    • Vance
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Vance is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
    • Wapocomo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Wapocomo is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapocomo
    • Ritters
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Ritters is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritters
    • Springfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Augusta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Three Churches
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Three Churches is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Churches
    • Donaldson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Donaldson is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
    • Points
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Points is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Points
    • Higginsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Higginsville is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginsville
    • Sedan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Sedan is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedan
  • Hardy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Dale, with the one closest to Laurel Dale listed first.
    • Moorefield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Fort Run
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Fort Run is located in Hardy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Run
    • Inkerman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Inkerman is located in Hardy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inkerman
    • Durgon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Durgon is located in Hardy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durgon
    • Baker
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Baker is located in Hardy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
    • Lost City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Pendleton County
    • Ketterman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Ketterman is located in Pendleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ketterman
  • Preston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Dale, with the one closest to Laurel Dale listed first.
    • Horse Shoe Run
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Horse Shoe Run is located in Preston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Shoe Run
    • Aurora
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Carmel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Carmel is located in Preston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel
    • Terra Alta
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Sell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Sell is located in Preston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sell
    • Salt Lick
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Salt Lick is located in Preston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Lick
    • Orr
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Orr is located in Preston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
    • Rowlesburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Tucker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Dale, with the one closest to Laurel Dale listed first.
    • Davis
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Pierce
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Pierce is located in Tucker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce
    • Thomas
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Coketon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Coketon is located in Tucker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coketon
    • Canaan Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Elk
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Elk is located in Tucker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk
  • Allegany County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Dale, with the one closest to Laurel Dale listed first.
    • Luke
      (11 miles [17.7 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
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Barton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Barton is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
    • Moscow
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Moscow is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
    • Nikep
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Nikep is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nikep
    • Lonaconing
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Rawlings
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Gilmore
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Gilmore is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
    • Midland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Midland is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
    • Klondike
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Klondike is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
    • Ocean
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Ocean is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean
    • Frost ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Frost is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
  • Garrett County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Dale, with the one closest to Laurel Dale listed first.
    • Kitzmiller
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Schell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Schell is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
    • Bloomington
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Bloomington is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
    • Altamont
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Altamont is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
    • Swanton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Deer Park
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Fort Pendleton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Fort Pendleton is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Pendleton
    • Mountain Lake Park
      (16 miles [25.7 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
    • Loch Lynn Heights
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • 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
    • Wilson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Wilson is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
    • Oakland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Oakland is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,803 people
    • Red House
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Red House is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red House
  • Somerset County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Dale, with the one closest to Laurel Dale listed first.
    • Salisbury
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • West Salisbury
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • West Salisbury is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salisbury

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

Cemeteries Near Laurel Dale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Laurel Dale.

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 Laurel Dale - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Doll Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Boswell Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Evans Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Ward Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Knobley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Ferrbee Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Davis Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Thrush Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Kitzmiller Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Dixon Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Tasker Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Thrush Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (224 more) ...
    • Evans Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Green Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Canon Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Laurel Dale had a population of 25 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Hartmansville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Hartmansville is located in Mineral County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartmansville
  • Antioch
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Antioch is located in Mineral County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
  • Martin
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Martin is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
  • Ridgeville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Ridgeville is located in Mineral County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
  • Elk Garden
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Shaw
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Shaw is located in Mineral County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
  • Chaffee
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Chaffee is located in Mineral County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaffee
  • Blaine
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Blaine is located in Mineral County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
  • Harrison
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Harrison is located in Mineral County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
  • Mount Storm
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Greenland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Greenland is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
  • Williamsport
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Williamsport is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsport
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Bismarck
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Bismarck is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bismarck
    • Medley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Burlington
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Laurel Dale ...

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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Laurel Dale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Laurel Dale, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Laurel Dale.

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 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 Laurel Dale:

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>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 Laurel Dale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Laurel Dale) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.