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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 Miami (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 Miami. 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.

Miami 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 Miami. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Miami:

  • Kanawha County     (The home county of Miami)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Miami, with the one closest to Miami listed first.
    • Ronda
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Ronda is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ronda
    • Dry Branch
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
    • Hollygrove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hollygrove is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollygrove
      • Hollygrove has also been known as:
      • Hollygrove Station
      • Hudnall
    • Cabin Creek
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Cabin Creek is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabin Creek
    • Chelyan
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Chelyan is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelyan
    • 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 north)
      • East Bank is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bank
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
    • Glasgow
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Handley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Handley is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
    • Eskdale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Eskdale is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskdale
    • Hugheston
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hugheston is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugheston
    • Pratt
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Pratt is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Miami, with the one closest to Miami listed first.
    • Joes Creek
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Joes Creek is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joes Creek
    • Coopertown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Coopertown is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopertown
    • Fosterville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Fosterville is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosterville
    • Kirbyton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Kirbyton is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyton
    • Orgas
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Orgas is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orgas
    • Comfort
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Seth
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Keith
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Keith is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keith
    • Bloomingrose
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Bloomingrose is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingrose
    • Eden
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Eden is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
    • Sharlow
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Sharlow is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharlow
    • Cabot
      (11 miles [17.7 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 Miami, with the one closest to Miami listed first.
    • Bomont
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Bomont is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bomont
    • Porter
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Porter is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
    • Elkhurst
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Elkhurst is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
    • Hartland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hartland is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
    • Procious
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Procious is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Procious
    • Clay
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Miami, with the one closest to Miami listed first.
    • Montgomery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Crescent
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Crescent is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
    • Smithers
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Elkridge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Elkridge is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkridge
    • Powellton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Powellton is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
    • Cannelton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Cannelton is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannelton
    • Kimberly
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Kimberly is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimberly
    • Mount Carbon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Mount Carbon is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carbon
    • McDunn
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • McDunn is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDunn
    • Falls View
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Falls View is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls View
    • Gauley Bridge
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Beckwith
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Miami, with the one closest to Miami listed first.
    • Alum Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Priestley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Priestley is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priestley
    • Sod
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Sod is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sod
    • Alkol
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Alkol is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkol
    • East ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • East is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East
    • Tango
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Tango is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tango
    • Garretts Bend
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Garretts Bend is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garretts Bend
    • Yawkey
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Yawkey is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yawkey
  • Logan County
    • Sodom
      (26 miles [41.8 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 Miami, with the one closest to Miami listed first.
    • Dixie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Dixie is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
    • Beech Glen
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Beech Glen is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Glen
    • Albion ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Albion is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
    • Tipton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Tipton is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
    • Keslers Cross Lanes
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
    • Zela
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Zela is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
    • Morrison ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Morrison is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Miami, with the one closest to Miami listed first.
    • Poca
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Morgans Landing
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Morgans Landing is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Landing
    • Raymond City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Raymond City is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond City
  • Raleigh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Miami, with the one closest to Miami listed first.
    • Dorothy
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Dorothy is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorothy
    • Packsville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Packsville is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packsville
    • Montcoal
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Montcoal is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcoal
    • Stickney
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Stickney is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stickney
    • Naoma
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Naoma is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naoma
    • Rock Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Rock Creek is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
    • Pineknob
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Pineknob is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineknob
    • 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
    • Bradley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Bradley is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
    • Sweeneyburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Sweeneyburg is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweeneyburg
    • Fairdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Fairdale is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
  • Roane County
    • Pigeon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Pigeon is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
  • Wyoming County
    • Kopperston
      (28 miles [45.1 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 Miami, see our County-by-County Page for Miami.

Cemeteries Near Miami ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Miami.

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

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

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

  • Hensley Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Dry Branch Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Lacie - Gray - Morris Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Foster Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Kanawha Valley Memorial Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • 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 north)
  • Slaughter Creek Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Good Shepherd Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Pettry Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (674 more) ...
    • Montgomery Memorial Park
      (5 miles [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
    • Mt. Lewis Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Ward Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)

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>

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

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

  • Dry Branch
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
  • Shrewsbury
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Shrewsbury is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shrewsbury
  • Crown Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Crown Hill is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown Hill
  • Coalburg
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Coalburg is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalburg
  • Handley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Handley is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
  • 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 north)
    • East Bank is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bank
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
  • Winifrede Junction
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Winifrede Junction is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winifrede Junction
  • Montgomery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Winifrede
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Winifrede is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winifrede
  • Powellton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Powellton is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
  • Eagle
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Eagle is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Crescent
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Crescent is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
    • Acme
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Acme is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
    • Mount Carbon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Mount Carbon is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carbon

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

Newspapers Published in Miami ...

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 9 newspapers that have been published in the area around Miami.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Miami, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Miami.

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 Miami:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Miami) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 Miami, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.