RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of West Virginia >> Kanawha County >> Livingston >> 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 Livingston (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 Livingston. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.

Livingston is located in Kanawha 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 Kanawha County: Boone, Clay, Fayette, Jackson, Lincoln, Nicholas, Putnam, Raleigh & Roane.

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

  • Kanawha County     (The home county of Livingston)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Livingston, with the one closest to Livingston listed first.
    • Hollygrove
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Hollygrove is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollygrove
      • Hollygrove has also been known as:
      • Hollygrove Station
      • Hudnall
    • Handley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Handley is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
    • Ronda
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Ronda is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ronda
    • Glasgow
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Pratt
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Pratt is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
    • Dry Branch
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
    • Cedar Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Cedar Grove is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
    • Hugheston
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Hugheston is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugheston
    • Cabin Creek
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Cabin Creek is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabin Creek
    • East Bank
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • East Bank is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bank
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
    • Chelyan
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Chelyan is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelyan
    • Eskdale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Eskdale is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskdale
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Livingston, with the one closest to Livingston listed first.
    • Joes Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Joes Creek is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joes Creek
    • Coopertown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Coopertown is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopertown
    • Fosterville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Fosterville is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosterville
    • Orgas
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Orgas is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orgas
    • Comfort
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Keith
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Keith is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keith
    • Bloomingrose
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Bloomingrose is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingrose
    • Eden
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Eden is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
    • Kirbyton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Kirbyton is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyton
    • Seth
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Sharlow
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Sharlow is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharlow
    • Cabot
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Cabot is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabot
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Livingston, with the one closest to Livingston listed first.
    • Bomont
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Bomont is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bomont
    • Porter
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Porter is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
    • Elkhurst
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Elkhurst is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
    • Hartland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Hartland is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
    • Procious
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Procious is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Procious
    • Clay
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Spread
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Spread is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
    • Valley Fork
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Valley Fork is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Livingston, with the one closest to Livingston listed first.
    • Montgomery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Crescent
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Crescent is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
    • Kimberly
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Kimberly is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimberly
    • Smithers
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Cannelton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Cannelton is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannelton
    • Mount Carbon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Mount Carbon is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carbon
    • Elkridge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Elkridge is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkridge
    • Powellton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Powellton is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
    • Falls View
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Falls View is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls View
    • McDunn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • McDunn is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDunn
    • Gauley Bridge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Beckwith
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Livingston, with the one closest to Livingston listed first.
    • Alum Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Priestley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Priestley is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priestley
    • Sod
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Sod is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sod
    • Alkol
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Alkol is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkol
    • Tango
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Tango is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tango
    • East ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • East is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East
    • Garretts Bend
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Garretts Bend is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garretts Bend
    • Yawkey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Yawkey is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yawkey
  • Logan County
    • Sodom
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Sodom is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sodom
  • Nicholas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Livingston, with the one closest to Livingston listed first.
    • Dixie
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Dixie is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
    • Beech Glen
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Beech Glen is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Glen
    • Albion ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Albion is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
    • Tipton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Tipton is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
    • Keslers Cross Lanes
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
    • Zela
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Zela is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
    • Morrison ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Morrison is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
    • Runa
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Runa is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runa
  • Putnam County
    • Poca
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Raleigh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Livingston, with the one closest to Livingston listed first.
    • Dorothy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Dorothy is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorothy
    • Packsville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Packsville is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packsville
    • Montcoal
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Montcoal is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcoal
    • Stickney
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Stickney is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stickney
    • Naoma
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Naoma is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naoma
    • Pineknob
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Pineknob is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineknob
    • Rock Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Rock Creek is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
    • Arnett
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Zada
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Zada is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zada
    • Sweeneyburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Sweeneyburg is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweeneyburg
    • Bradley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Bradley is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
    • Prosperity
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Prosperity is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosperity
  • Roane County
    • Pigeon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Pigeon is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
  • Wyoming County
    • Kopperston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Kopperston is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kopperston

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

Cemeteries Near Livingston ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Livingston.

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 Livingston - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Kanawha Valley Memorial Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Montgomery Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Memorial Park
    • The Montgomery Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Montgomery Memorial Cemetery
    • Montgomery Memorial Gardens
  • Hensley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Dry Branch Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Woodland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Virginias Chapel Slave Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Goodwin Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Good Shepherd Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Lacie - Gray - Morris Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Craig Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Lewis Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (651 more) ...
    • Slaughter Creek Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Ward Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Mt. Hope Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)

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>

While we didn't find Livingston in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Livingston.

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

  • Handley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Handley is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
  • Crown Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Crown Hill is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown Hill
  • Dry Branch
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
  • Cedar Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Grove is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
  • East Bank
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • East Bank is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bank
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
  • Montgomery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Coalburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Coalburg is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalburg
  • Shrewsbury
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Shrewsbury is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shrewsbury
  • Eagle
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Eagle is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle
  • Crescent
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Crescent is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
  • Powellton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Powellton is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
  • Mount Carbon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Mount Carbon is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carbon
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Winifrede Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Winifrede Junction is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winifrede Junction
    • Acme
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Acme is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
    • Deep Water
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Deep Water is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Water

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

Newspapers Published in Livingston ...

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 8 newspapers that have been published in the area around Livingston.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Livingston, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Livingston.

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 either 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 Livingston:

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 Livingston, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Livingston) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.