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 Mount Olive (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 Mount Olive. 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.
Name Variations for Mount Olive ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Mount Olive: Mt. Olive
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Mount Olive. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Mount Olive.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Mount Olive is located in 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 Mount Olive. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mount Olive:
- Fayette County (The home county of Mount Olive)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Cannelton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cannelton is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannelton
- Gauley Bridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Smithers
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Crescent
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Crescent is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
- Montgomery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Falls View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Falls View is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls View
- Kimberly
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kimberly is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimberly
- Mount Carbon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Carbon is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carbon
- Romont
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Romont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romont
- Ansted
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cotton Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cotton Hill is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Hill
- Beckwith
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hawks Nest
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hawks Nest is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawks Nest
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Joes Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Joes Creek is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joes Creek
- Coopertown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Coopertown is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopertown
- Fosterville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fosterville is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosterville
- Keith
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Keith is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keith
- Kirbyton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kirbyton is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyton
- Orgas
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Orgas is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orgas
- Seth
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bloomingrose
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Bloomingrose is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingrose
- Comfort
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Eden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Eden is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Sharlow
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Sharlow is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharlow
- Elk Run Junction
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Elk Run Junction is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Run Junction
- Sylvester
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Braxton County
- Strange Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Strange Creek is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strange Creek
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Mudfork
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Mudfork is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudfork
- Oka
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Oka is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oka
- Stinson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Stinson is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Bomont
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Bomont is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bomont
- Hartland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hartland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Elkhurst
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Elkhurst is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
- Porter
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Porter is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Procious
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Procious is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Procious
- Clay
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Spread
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Spread is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
- Valley Fork
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Gould
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Dink
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Dink is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dink
- Harrison
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Widen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Widen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widen
- Ira
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Greenbrier County
- Crichton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Crichton is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crichton
- Kanawha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Hugheston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hugheston is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugheston
- Handley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Handley is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
- Pratt
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Pratt is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
- Hollygrove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Hollygrove is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollygrove
- Hollygrove has also been known as:
- Hollygrove Station
- Hudnall
- Glasgow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Cedar Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Cedar Grove is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
- East Bank
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- East Bank is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bank
- Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
- Ronda
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ronda is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ronda
- Apgah ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Apgah is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apgah
- Cabin Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Cabin Creek is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabin Creek
- Dry Branch
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
- Chelyan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Chelyan is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelyan
- Coco
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Coco is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coco
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Dixie
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dixie is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Beech Glen
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Beech Glen is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Glen
- Albion ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Albion is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Tipton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Tipton is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Zela
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Zela is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
- Keslers Cross Lanes
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
- Morrison ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Morrison is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
- Summersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Runa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Runa is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runa
- Muddlety
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Muddlety is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddlety
- Snow Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Snow Hill is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Donald
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Donald is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
- Odell Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- 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 Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Dorothy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Dorothy is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorothy
- Bradley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Bradley is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Packsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Packsville is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packsville
- Prosperity
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Prosperity is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosperity
- Sweeneyburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Sweeneyburg is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweeneyburg
- Terry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Terry is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terry
- Montcoal
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Montcoal is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcoal
- Piney View
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Piney View is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney View
- Royal ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Royal is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Stickney
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Stickney is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stickney
- Arnett
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Grandview
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Grandview is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Naoma
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Naoma is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naoma
- Roane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Pigeon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Pigeon is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Kester ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Kester is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kester
- Mattie ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mattie is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattie
- Looneyville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Walton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Cicerone
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cicerone is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cicerone
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Mount Olive, see our County-by-County Page for Mount Olive.
Cemeteries Near Mount Olive ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mount Olive.
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 Mount Olive - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Mount Olive covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Ramsey Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Ramsey Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the northwest of Dixie.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2221301 <3>
- Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Ida Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rich Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Simms Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Proctor Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Blakley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Goodwin Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Montgomery Memorial Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Memorial Park
- The Montgomery Memorial Park has also been known as:
- Montgomery Memorial Cemetery
- Montgomery Memorial Gardens
- Guthrie Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Abbott - Huddleston Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Blake Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Continue List (537 more) ...
- Robson Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Mt. Chapel Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sugar Creek Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
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 Mount Olive in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Mount Olive.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Belva
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Belva is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belva
- Dixie
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dixie is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Pond Gap
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pond Gap is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Gap
- Gauley Bridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Spangler
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Spangler is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spangler
- Montgomery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Crescent
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Crescent is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
- Eagle
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Eagle is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle
- Kanawha Falls
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Kanawha Falls is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha Falls
- Gauley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gauley is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gauley
- Mount Carbon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Carbon is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carbon
- Deep Water
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Deep Water is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Water
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Lizemores
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lizemores is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lizemores
- Handley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Handley is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
- Kendalia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Kendalia is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendalia
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Mount Olive. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mount Olive.
Newspapers Published in Mount Olive ...
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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mount Olive.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mount Olive, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mount Olive.
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 helpful 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 Mount Olive:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Fayette County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Boone County
- Braxton County
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Greenbrier County
- Kanawha County
- Nicholas County
- Raleigh County
- Roane County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for West Virginia
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 '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- Mount Olive) 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 Mount Olive, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |