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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 Montgomery (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 Montgomery. 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 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.

Montgomery is primarily located in Fayette County. A portion of Montgomery extends into Kanawha County.

To see how the shape of West Virginia's counties 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 Montgomery. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Montgomery:

  • Fayette County     (The home county of Montgomery)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Montgomery, with the one closest to Montgomery listed first.
    • Smithers
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smithers have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithers
      • Smithers is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 726 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Smithers <2>
    • Cannelton
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Crescent
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Crescent. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
      • Crescent is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Crescent
      • From Montgomery to Crescent
    • Kimberly
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Carbon
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Powellton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Powellton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
      • Powellton is located in Fayette County
    • Falls View
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Gauley Bridge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gauley Bridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gauley Bridge
      • Gauley Bridge is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 545 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gauley Bridge <2>
    • Elkridge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elkridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkridge
      • Elkridge is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elkridge
      • From Montgomery to Elkridge
    • McDunn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Cotton Hill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Beckwith
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Ansted
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ansted have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ansted
      • Ansted is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,300 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ansted <2>
  • Boone County
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Montgomery, with the one closest to Montgomery listed first.
    • Elkhurst
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elkhurst. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
      • Elkhurst is located in Clay County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elkhurst
      • From Montgomery to Elkhurst
    • Hartland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Porter
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Porter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
      • Porter is located in Clay County
    • Procious
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Clay
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Spread
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spread have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
      • Spread is located in Clay County
    • Valley Fork
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Gould
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gould. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
      • Gould is located in Clay County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Gould
      • From Montgomery to Gould
    • Dink
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dink. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dink
      • Dink is located in Clay County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dink
      • From Montgomery to Dink
    • Harrison
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Kanawha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Montgomery, with the one closest to Montgomery listed first.
    • Handley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Handley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
      • Handley is located in Kanawha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
    • Pratt
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pratt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
      • Pratt is located in Kanawha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
    • Hollygrove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Glasgow
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glasgow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
      • Glasgow is located in Kanawha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 823 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glasgow <2>
    • Cedar Grove
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
      • Cedar Grove is located in Kanawha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
    • East Bank
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Bank have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bank
      • East Bank is located in Kanawha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
    • Ronda
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Dry Branch
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Eskdale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Cabin Creek
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Witcher
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Carbon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Chesapeake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chesapeake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesapeake
      • Chesapeake is located in Kanawha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,393 people
  • Lincoln County
  • Nicholas County
  • Raleigh County
  • Roane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Montgomery, with the one closest to Montgomery listed first.
    • Pigeon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Kester ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kester have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kester
      • Kester is located in Roane County
    • Mattie ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mattie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattie
      • Mattie is located in Roane County

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

Cemeteries Near Montgomery ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Montgomery.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Goodwin Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Goodwin Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Goodwin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Montgomery Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Guthrie Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Guthrie Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Guthrie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Craig Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Blake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Lewis Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Lewis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Lewis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Virginias Chapel Slave Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Virginias Chapel Slave Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Virginias Chapel Slave Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Kanawha Valley Memorial Gardens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kanawha Valley Memorial Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kanawha Valley Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ward Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ward Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ward Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the IOOF Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Robson Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Robson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Robson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (587 more) ...
    • Ramsey Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Blakley Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blakley Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blakley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Good Shepherd Church Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Good Shepherd Church Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Good Shepherd Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Montgomery had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Montgomery had a population of 1,492 people.

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

  • Eagle
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle
    • Eagle is located in Fayette County
  • Crescent
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Crescent. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
    • Crescent is located in Fayette County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Crescent
    • From Montgomery to Crescent
  • Handley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Handley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
    • Handley is located in Kanawha County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
  • Mount Carbon
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Crown Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crown Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown Hill
    • Crown Hill is located in Kanawha County
  • Powellton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Powellton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
    • Powellton is located in Fayette County
  • Deep Water
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deep Water have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Water
    • Deep Water is located in Fayette County
  • Gauley Bridge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gauley Bridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gauley Bridge
    • Gauley Bridge is located in Fayette County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 545 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gauley Bridge <2>
  • Cedar Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
    • Cedar Grove is located in Kanawha County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
  • East Bank
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Bank have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bank
    • East Bank is located in Kanawha County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
  • Kanawha Falls
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kanawha Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha Falls
    • Kanawha Falls is located in Fayette County
  • Pond Gap
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pond Gap have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Gap
    • Pond Gap is located in Kanawha County
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Coalburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coalburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalburg
      • Coalburg is located in Kanawha County
    • Dry Branch
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Gauley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gauley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gauley
      • Gauley is located in Fayette County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Montgomery ...

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 6 newspapers that have been published in the area around Montgomery.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Montgomery. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Montgomery and those printed in the larger area surrounding Montgomery.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4> of Montgomery.

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 Montgomery:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Montgomery. 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>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Montgomery) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Montgomery. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.1814, Longitude: -81.3268    
<5>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.
<6>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 Montgomery, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025