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 Melrose (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 Melrose. 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 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.
Melrose is located in Mercer 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 Mercer County : Bland (VA) , Giles (VA) , Tazewell (VA) , McDowell , Raleigh , Summers & Wyoming .
Below are the counties that are near Melrose. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Melrose:
Mercer County (The home county of Melrose)
The following are listed by their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
Oak Grove (Less than 2 miles to the west)
Oak Grove is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove Princeton (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
Athens (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
Blake ‑ Historic(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Blake is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake East River ‑ Historic(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
East River is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River Johnston Town (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
Johnston Town is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnston Town Elgood (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
Elgood is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgood Oakvale (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
Oakvale is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakvale Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
El Centro ‑ Historic(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
El Centro is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Centro Edison (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
Edison is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison Lashmeet (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
Lashmeet is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lashmeet Willowton (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
Willowton is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowton Littlesburg (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
Littlesburg is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg Logan County
Rich Creek (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
Rich Creek is located in Logan County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek McDowell County
The following are listed by their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
Elkhorn (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
Elkhorn is located in McDowell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn Kyle (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
Kyle is located in McDowell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle Northfork (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
Anawalt (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
Anawalt is located in McDowell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
Keystone (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
Kimball (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
Big Four (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
Big Four is located in McDowell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Four Thorpe (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
Thorpe is located in McDowell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorpe Gary (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
Gary is located in McDowell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
Welch (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
Bishop (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
Bishop is located in McDowell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop Monroe County
The following are listed by their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
Peterstown (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
Ballard (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
Ballard is located in Monroe County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard Assurance (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
Assurance is located in Monroe County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assurance Wikel (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
Wikel is located in Monroe County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wikel Wayside (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
Wayside is located in Monroe County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside Creamery (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
Creamery is located in Monroe County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery Wolfcreek (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
Wolfcreek is located in Monroe County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfcreek Raleigh County
The following are listed by their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
Rhodell (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
Rhodell is located in Raleigh County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodell Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
Coal City (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
Coal City is located in Raleigh County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City Eastgulf (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
Eastgulf is located in Raleigh County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastgulf Princewick (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
Princewick is located in Raleigh County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princewick Shady Spring (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
Helen (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
Helen is located in Raleigh County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen Sullivan (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
Sullivan is located in Raleigh County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan Ury (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
Ury is located in Raleigh County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ury Daniels (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
Pemberton (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
Pemberton is located in Raleigh County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton Tilden (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
Tilden is located in Raleigh County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilden Sophia (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
Stotesbury (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
Stotesbury is located in Raleigh County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stotesbury Summers County
The following are listed by their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
Mercers Saltworks ‑ Historic(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
Mercers Saltworks is located in Summers County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercers Saltworks Pipestem (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
True (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
True is located in Summers County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True Nimitz (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
Nimitz is located in Summers County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimitz Packs Ferry (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
Packs Ferry is located in Summers County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry Jumping Branch (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
Jumping Branch is located in Summers County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch Buck (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
Buck is located in Summers County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Forest Hill (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
Bellepoint (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
Bellepoint is located in Summers County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellepoint Brooklin (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
Brooklin is located in Summers County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin Hinton (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
Bargers Springs (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
Bargers Springs is located in Summers County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bargers Springs Hilldale (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
Hilldale is located in Summers County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale Wyoming County
The following are listed by their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
Bud (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
Bud is located in Wyoming County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud Mullens (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
Pineville (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
Keyrock (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
Keyrock is located in Wyoming County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyrock Mullensville (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
Mullensville is located in Wyoming County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullensville Rock View (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
Rock View is located in Wyoming County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock View Woosley (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
Woosley is located in Wyoming County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woosley Bland County (VA)
The following are listed by their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
Round Bottom (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
Round Bottom is located in Bland County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom Rocky Gap (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
Rocky Gap is located in Bland County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap Hicksville (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
Hicksville is located in Bland County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville Bastian (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
Mechanicsburg (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg Bland (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
Giles County (VA)
The following are listed by their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
Glen Lyn (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
Glen Lyn is located in Giles County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Lyn Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
Lurich (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
Lurich is located in Giles County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich Rich Creek (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
Shumate (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
Shumate is located in Giles County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate Narrows (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
Bluff City (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
Bluff City is located in Giles County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City Thessalia (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
Thessalia is located in Giles County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia Pearisburg (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
Poplar Hill (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
Poplar Hill is located in Giles County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hill Pembroke (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
Eggleston (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
Goodwins Ferry (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
Goodwins Ferry is located in Giles County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwins Ferry Mountain Lake (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
Mountain Lake is located in Giles County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake Pulaski County (VA)
The following are listed by their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
Sassin ‑ Historic(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
Sassin is located in Pulaski County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin Hilton Village (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
Hilton Village is located in Pulaski County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village Parrott (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
Parrott is located in Pulaski County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrott Pulaski (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
Dublin (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
Wurno (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
Wurno is located in Pulaski County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurno Cowan (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
Cowan is located in Pulaski County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan Newbern (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
Fairlawn (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
Fairlawn is located in Pulaski County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn Tazewell County (VA)
The following are listed by their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
Bluefield (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
Falls Mills (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills Yards (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
Yards is located in Tazewell County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards Pocahontas (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
Saint Clair (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Boissevain (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
Boissevain is located in Tazewell County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boissevain Shawver Mill (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill Springville (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
Springville is located in Tazewell County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville Abbs Valley (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
Abbs Valley is located in Tazewell County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley Little Town (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
Little Town is located in Tazewell County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town Wittens Mills (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills Five Oaks (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
Five Oaks is located in Tazewell County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Oaks Adria (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
Adria is located in Tazewell County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adria Wythe County (VA)
The following are listed by their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
Max Meadows (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
Kent (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
Kent is located in Wythe County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent Locust Hill (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
Locust Hill is located in Wythe County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill Wytheville (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Melrose, see our County-by-County Page for Melrose .
Cemeteries Near Melrose ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Melrose.
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 Melrose - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Melrose covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
Stinson Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the south)
Barberie Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the south)
McCue Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
Blake Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
Scott Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
Oney Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
Miller Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
Crawford Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
Hearn Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Oakwood Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
Resthaven Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
Hypes Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
Continue List (374 more) ...
Roach Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
Belcher Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
Bailey Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 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 Melrose in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Melrose.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
Princeton (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
Ingleside (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
Ingleside is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside East River ‑ Historic(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
East River is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River Spanishburg (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
New Hope (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
New Hope is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope Oakvale (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
Oakvale is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakvale Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
Elgood (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
Elgood is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgood Ada (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
Ada is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada Lashmeet (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
Lashmeet is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lashmeet Willowton (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
Willowton is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowton Pinoak (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
Pinoak is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinoak Bethel ‑ Historic(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
Bethel is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel Continue List (13 more) ...
Rocky Gap (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
Rocky Gap is located in Bland County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap Glen Lyn (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
Glen Lyn is located in Giles County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Lyn Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
Dunns (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
Dunns is located in Mercer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunns
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Melrose. See our List of 1890's Communities around Melrose .
Newspapers Published in Melrose ...
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 23 newspapers that have been published in the area around Melrose.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Melrose, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3> Extended Newspaper List for Melrose.
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 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 Melrose:
Websites specific to West Virginia Pages specific to Mercer County Genealogy information for nearby counties
Logan County McDowell County Monroe County Raleigh County Summers County Wyoming County Bland County Giles County Pulaski County Tazewell County Wythe County Cemetery Information and Directories for West Virginia Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Melrose. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page .
The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/
Footnotes ...
<1> While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. 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 Melrose, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Melrose) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.