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 Little Otter (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 Little Otter. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Little Otter 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 Little Otter. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Little Otter:
- Braxton County (The home county of Little Otter)
- The following are listed by their distance from Little Otter, with the one closest to Little Otter listed first.
- Gassaway
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Sutton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lloydsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lloydsville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydsville
- Chapel
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Chapel is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel
- McNutt
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- McNutt is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNutt
- Exchange
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Flatwoods
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Canfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Canfield is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Frametown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Frametown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frametown
- Rockton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rockton is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockton
- Twistville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Twistville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twistville
- Wilsie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Wilsie is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsie
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Little Otter, with the one closest to Little Otter listed first.
- Losie ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Losie is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Losie
- Walnut
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Walnut is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Stinson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Stinson is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Gomez ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Gomez is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gomez
- Mudfork
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Mudfork is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudfork
- Orma
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Orma is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orma
- Staten
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Staten is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staten
- Russet
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Russet is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russet
- Arnoldsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Arnoldsburg is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnoldsburg
- Oka
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Oka is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oka
- Beech
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Beech is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech
- Grantsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Little Otter, with the one closest to Little Otter listed first.
- Ira
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Wattsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Wattsville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Lydia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Lydia is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lydia
- Harrison
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Widen
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Widen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widen
- Dink
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Dink is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dink
- Gould
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Spread
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Spread is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
- Valley Fork
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Clay
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hartland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hartland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Elkhurst
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Elkhurst is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
- Doddridge County
- Saint Clara
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Saint Clara is located in Doddridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clara
- Gilmer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Little Otter, with the one closest to Little Otter listed first.
- Cedarville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Cedarville is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Shock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Shock is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shock
- Stouts Mills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Stouts Mills is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stouts Mills
- Normantown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Fork
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Sand Fork is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Fork
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Truebada
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Truebada is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truebada
- Stumptown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Stumptown is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stumptown
- Glenville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Baldwin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Baldwin is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- De Kalb
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- De Kalb is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Kalb
- Alice
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Alice is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
- Troy
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Troy is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Little Otter, with the one closest to Little Otter listed first.
- Duffy
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Duffy is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffy
- Crawford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Crawford is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Vadis
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Vadis is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vadis
- Alum Bridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Alum Bridge is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alum Bridge
- Alkires Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Alkires Mills is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkires Mills
- Camden
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Camden is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
- Hurst
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Hurst is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurst
- Cox Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cox Town is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox Town
- Garton Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Garton Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garton Village
- Smith Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Smith Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Village
- Weston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Little Otter, with the one closest to Little Otter listed first.
- Birch River
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Tioga
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Muddlety
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Muddlety is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddlety
- Beaver
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Beaver is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Craigsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Summersville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Donald
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Donald is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
- Zela
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Zela is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Little Otter, with the one closest to Little Otter listed first.
- Florence ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Florence is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Pickens
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Helvetia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Ritchie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Little Otter, with the one closest to Little Otter listed first.
- Lawford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Lawford is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawford
- Burnt House
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Burnt House is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt House
- Auburn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Auburn is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
- Roane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Little Otter, with the one closest to Little Otter listed first.
- Pigeon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pigeon is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Roxalana
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Roxalana is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxalana
- Graux
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Graux is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graux
- Kester ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Kester is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kester
- Looneyville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Triplett
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Triplett is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triplett
- Upshur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Little Otter, with the one closest to Little Otter listed first.
- Kanawha Head
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Kanawha Head is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha Head
- Goshen
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Goshen is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Rock Cave
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Cave is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Cave
- Wilsontown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Wilsontown is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsontown
- Frenchton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Frenchton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchton
- Hoover Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hoover Town is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover Town
- Abbott
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Abbott is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- Alexander
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Alexander is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- Alton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Alton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Adrian
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Adrian is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adrian
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Little Otter, with the one closest to Little Otter listed first.
- Erbacon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Erbacon is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erbacon
- Big Run
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Big Run is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Replete
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Replete is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Replete
- Cleveland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Hacker Valley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Halo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Halo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halo
- Orndoff
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Orndoff is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orndoff
- Cowen
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Excelsior
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Excelsior is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Welch Glade
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Welch Glade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch Glade
- Addison
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Addison is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
- Camden-on-Gauley
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Camden-on-Gauley is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden-on-Gauley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Little Otter, see our County-by-County Page for Little Otter.
Cemeteries Near Little Otter ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Little Otter.
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 Little Otter - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Little Otter covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Little Otter, with the one closest to Little Otter listed first.
- Otter Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Cutlip Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Sugar Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Creek Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Sugar Creek Cemetery is located between<2> the communities of Frametown and Gassaway. The cemetery lies less than 2 miles<3> to the southwest of Gassaway.
- Bealls Mill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Frame Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sutton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Stumble Run Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ellison Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Camden Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Shaver Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- New Fairview Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (413 more) ...
- Starkey Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Carr Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Houston - Carr Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Little Otter had a population of 127 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Little Otter, with the one closest to Little Otter listed first.
- Sutton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Home
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Home is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home
- Chapel
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Chapel is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel
- Lloydsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lloydsville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydsville
- McNutt
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- McNutt is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNutt
- Frametown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Frametown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frametown
- Twistville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Twistville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twistville
- Canfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Canfield is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- German ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- German is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German
- Flatwoods
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Little Birch
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Little Birch is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Birch
- Cutlips
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Cutlips is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutlips
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Progress ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Progress is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progress
- Herold
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Herold is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herold
- Hope ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Hope is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Little Otter. See our List of 1890's Communities around Little Otter.
Newspapers Published in Little Otter ...
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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Little Otter.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Little Otter, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Little Otter.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Little Otter:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Braxton County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Doddridge County
- Gilmer County
- Lewis County
- Nicholas County
- Randolph County
- Ritchie County
- Roane 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> | To help visualize the location of the cemetery, we've drawn a straight line between the communities of Frametown and Gassaway. The cemetery can be found near that line and roughly halfway between the two communities. Remember that this is just an approximate location. |
| <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 from Point A (ie- Little Otter) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Little Otter, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |