Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Michigan. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Michigan to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Michigan, please Contact Us.
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 Michigan (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 Michigan. 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Michigan is historic, it would have been located within present day Fayette 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 Fayette County: Greenbrier, Kanawha, Nicholas, Raleigh & Summers.
Below are the counties that are near Michigan. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Michigan:
- Fayette County (The home county of Michigan)
- The following are listed by their distance from Michigan, with the one closest to Michigan listed first.
- Lansing
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Grayden
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Grayden is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayden
- Fayette
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Fayette is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
- Kaymoor ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kaymoor is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaymoor
- Fayetteville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Victor
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Victor is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victor
- Hawks Nest
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hawks Nest is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawks Nest
- Garten
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Garten is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garten
- Ansted
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Cotton Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cotton Hill is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Hill
- Beckwith
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Dempsey
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Dempsey is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dempsey
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Michigan, with the one closest to Michigan listed first.
- Elk Run Junction
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Elk Run Junction is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Run Junction
- Janie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Janie is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janie
- Former name for Janie:
- Mordue
- Joes Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Joes Creek is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joes Creek
- Whitesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Whitesville is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 416 people
- Former names for Whitesville:
- Jarrods Valley
- Pritchard City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitesville <2>
- Keith
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Keith is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keith
- Orgas
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Orgas is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orgas
- Sylvester
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Coopertown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Coopertown is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopertown
- Fosterville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Fosterville is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosterville
- Kirbyton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Kirbyton is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyton
- Cabot
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Cabot is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabot
- Comfort
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Michigan, with the one closest to Michigan listed first.
- Hartland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Hartland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Elkhurst
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Elkhurst is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
- Bomont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Bomont is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bomont
- Clay
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Spread
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Spread is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
- Porter
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Porter is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Procious
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Procious is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Procious
- Widen
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Widen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widen
- Harrison
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Greenbrier County
- The following are listed by their distance from Michigan, with the one closest to Michigan listed first.
- Rainelle
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Charmco
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Hines
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Hines is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hines
- McRoss
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- McRoss is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRoss
- Orient Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Orient Hill is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orient Hill
- Crichton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Crichton is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crichton
- Quinwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Quinwood is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Rupert
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Brushy Junction ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Brushy Junction is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Junction
- Vale
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Vale is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Crawley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lile
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lile is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lile
- Kanawha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Michigan, with the one closest to Michigan listed first.
- Handley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Handley is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
- Carbon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Carbon is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Hollygrove
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Hollygrove is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollygrove
- Hollygrove has also been known as:
- Hollygrove Station
- Hudnall
- Hugheston
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Hugheston is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugheston
- Pratt
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Pratt is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
- Eskdale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Eskdale is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskdale
- Glasgow
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Acme
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Acme is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Ronda
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Ronda is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ronda
- Cedar Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Grove is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
- East Bank
(21 miles [33.8 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
- Dry Branch
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Michigan, with the one closest to Michigan listed first.
- Albion ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Albion is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Beech Glen
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Beech Glen is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Glen
- Runa
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Runa is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runa
- Tipton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Tipton is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Keslers Cross Lanes
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
- Dixie
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Dixie is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Morrison ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Morrison is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
- Snow Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Snow Hill is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Zela
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Zela is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
- Summersville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Carl
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Carl is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
- Odell Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Odell Town is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odell Town
- Odell Town has also been known as:
- Odell
- Raleigh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Michigan, with the one closest to Michigan listed first.
- Bradley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Bradley is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Royal ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Royal is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Terry
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Terry is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terry
- Piney View
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Piney View is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney View
- Grandview
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Grandview is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Prosperity
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Prosperity is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosperity
- Stanaford
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Stanaford is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanaford
- Skelton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Skelton is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skelton
- White Stick
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- White Stick is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Stick
- Sweeneyburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Sweeneyburg is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweeneyburg
- Sprague
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Sprague is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprague
- Abraham
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Abraham is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abraham
- Summers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Michigan, with the one closest to Michigan listed first.
- New Richmond ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- New Richmond is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
- Sandstone
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Brooklin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Brooklin is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
- Hinton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Jumping Branch
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
- Nimitz
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Nimitz is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimitz
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Michigan, see our County-by-County Page for Michigan.
Cemeteries Near Michigan ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Michigan.
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 Michigan - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Michigan covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Michigan, with the one closest to Michigan listed first.
- Huse Memorial Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Willis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Pierce Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Restlawn Memory Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Abbot Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- John Nugen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Westlake Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Mt. Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jennette Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- High Lawn Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sugar Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (333 more) ...
- Abbott - Huddleston Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bays Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Legg Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
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.
While we didn't find Michigan in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Michigan.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Michigan, with the one closest to Michigan listed first.
- Lansing
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Fayette
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Fayette is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
- Sunnyside ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Sunnyside is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
- Fayetteville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Gaymont
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Gaymont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaymont
- Nuttalburg ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Nuttalburg is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nuttalburg
- Edmond
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Edmond is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Mountain Cove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mountain Cove is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Cove
- Hawks Nest
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hawks Nest is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawks Nest
- Dempsey
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Dempsey is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dempsey
- Ansted
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Gatewood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Gatewood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatewood
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Keeneys Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Keeneys Creek is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeneys Creek
- Beauty
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Beauty is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauty
- Cotton Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cotton Hill is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Hill
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Michigan. See our List of 1890's Communities around Michigan.
Newspapers Published in Michigan ...
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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Michigan.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Michigan, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Michigan.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Michigan:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Fayette County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Boone County
- Clay County
- Greenbrier County
- Kanawha County
- Nicholas County
- Raleigh County
- Summers County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for West Virginia
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Michigan, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Michigan) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |