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 Leonard (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 Leonard. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.
Leonard is located in Greenbrier 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 Greenbrier County: Alleghany (VA), Bath (VA), Fayette, Monroe, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Summers & Webster.
Below are the counties that are near Leonard. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Leonard:
- Greenbrier County (The home county of Leonard)
- The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Loveridge
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Loveridge is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveridge
- Oscar
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oscar is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oscar
- Falling Spring
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Falling Spring is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Spring
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
- Sunlight
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sunlight is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunlight
- Spring Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Spring Creek is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
- Williamsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Frankford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Frankford is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankford
- Unus
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Unus is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unus
- Lile
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Lile is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lile
- Anthony
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Anthony is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anthony
- Clendenenville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Clendenenville is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clendenenville
- Brushy Junction ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Brushy Junction is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Junction
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Maywood
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Maywood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maywood
- Bellwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bellwood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
- Spring Dale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Dale is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Dale
- Hilton Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Hilton Village is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
- Meadow Bridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Meadow Bridge is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Bridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Clifftop
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Clifty
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Clifty is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifty
- Lookout
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Richwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Saxman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Saxman is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxman
- Carl
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Carl is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
- Peaser Junction ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Peaser Junction is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaser Junction
- Tolbert
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Tolbert is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolbert
- Nettie
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Odell Town
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Odell Town is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odell Town
- Odell Town has also been known as:
- Odell
- Donald
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Donald is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
- Snow Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Snow Hill is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Craigsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Beaver
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Beaver is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Runa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Runa is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runa
- Pocahontas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Hillsboro
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Watoga ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Watoga is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watoga
- Buckeye
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Marlinton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Onoto
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Onoto is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onoto
- Edray
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Edray is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edray
- Huntersville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Thorny Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Thorny Creek is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorny Creek
- Slaty Fork
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Camden-on-Gauley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Camden-on-Gauley is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden-on-Gauley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Upperglade
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Upperglade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upperglade
- Welch Glade
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Welch Glade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch Glade
- Cowen
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Excelsior
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Excelsior is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Halo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Halo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halo
- Addison
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Addison is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
- Ralph
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Ralph is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ralph
- Alleghany County (VA)
- Moss Run
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Moss Run is located in Alleghany County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Run
- Bath County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Greenwood ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Greenwood is located in Bath County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Mountain Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Mountain Grove is located in Bath County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Grove
- Cowardin ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Cowardin is located in Bath County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowardin
- Carloover
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Carloover is located in Bath County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carloover
- Healing Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Healing Springs is located in Bath County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Healing Springs
- Covington City (VA)
- Covington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Leonard, see our County-by-County Page for Leonard.
Cemeteries Near Leonard ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Leonard.
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 Leonard - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Leonard covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Reed Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mountain Gate Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Sunset Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Morning Side Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Kellison Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Baber Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pilgrim Rest Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Walnut Grove Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Enon Baptist Church Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Richwood Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hinkle Mtn. Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain View Memorial Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (95 more) ...
- Mountain Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- New Hope Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Taylor Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
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, Leonard had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Loveridge
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Loveridge is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveridge
- Friars Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Friars Hill is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friars Hill
- Renicks Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Renicks Valley is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renicks Valley
- Jacox
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jacox is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacox
- Falling Spring
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Falling Spring is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Spring
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
- Lobelia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lobelia is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lobelia
- Williamsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Locust
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Locust is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust
- Frankford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Frankford is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankford
- Duo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Duo is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duo
- Richwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lile
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Lile is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lile
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Sue
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Sue is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sue
- Mill Point
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mill Point is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Point
- Hughart
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hughart is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughart
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Leonard. See our List of 1890's Communities around Leonard.
Newspapers Published in Leonard ...
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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Leonard.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Leonard, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Leonard.
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 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 Leonard:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Greenbrier County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fayette County
- Nicholas County
- Pocahontas County
- Webster County
- Alleghany County
- Bath County
- Covington City
- 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 Leonard, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Leonard) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |