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Home >> State of West Virginia >> Mercer County >> Mount Olive >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

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

  • Mercer 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.
    • Lashmeet
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Lashmeet is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lashmeet
    • Matoaka
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Matoaka is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaka
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
    • Weyanoke
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Weyanoke is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyanoke
    • Johnston Town
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Johnston Town is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnston Town
    • Princeton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Montcalm
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Montcalm is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcalm
    • Littlesburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Littlesburg is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
    • Flipping
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Flipping is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
    • Oak Grove
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Oak Grove is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Edison
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Edison is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
    • El Centro ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • El Centro is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Centro
    • Bramwell
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Logan County
    • Rich Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 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 Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
    • Elkhorn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Elkhorn is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
    • Kyle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Kyle is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
    • Northfork
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Keystone
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Anawalt
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Anawalt is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
    • Big Four
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Big Four is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Four
    • Kimball
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Thorpe
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Thorpe is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorpe
    • Gary
      (19 miles [30.6 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
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Welch is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,575 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welch <1>
    • Bishop
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Bishop is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
    • Davy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Davy is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 324 people
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
    • Peterstown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Ballard
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Ballard is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
    • Assurance
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Assurance is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assurance
    • Wikel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Wikel is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wikel
    • Wayside
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Wayside is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside
  • Raleigh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
    • Rhodell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Rhodell is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
    • Eastgulf
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Eastgulf is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastgulf
    • Helen
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Helen is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen
    • Princewick
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Princewick is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princewick
    • Ury
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Ury is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ury
    • Coal City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Coal City is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
    • Stotesbury
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Stotesbury is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stotesbury
    • Shady Spring
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Slab Fork
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Slab Fork is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab Fork
    • Sophia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Sullivan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Sullivan is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
    • Pemberton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Pemberton is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
  • Summers County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
    • Pipestem
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Mercers Saltworks ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Mercers Saltworks is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercers Saltworks
    • True
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • True is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True
    • Jumping Branch
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
    • Nimitz
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Nimitz is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimitz
    • Packs Ferry
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Packs Ferry is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry
    • Bellepoint
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Bellepoint is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellepoint
    • Brooklin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Brooklin is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
    • Buck
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Buck is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
    • Forest Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hinton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Bargers Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Bargers Springs is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bargers Springs
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
    • Bud
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Bud is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
    • Mullens
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Mullensville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Mullensville is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullensville
    • Pineville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Woosley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Woosley is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woosley
    • Keyrock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Keyrock is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyrock
    • Rock View
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Rock View is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock View
    • Wyoming
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Wyoming is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
    • Fanny
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Fanny is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanny
    • Turkey
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Turkey is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey
    • Stoneville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Stoneville is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneville
    • Baileysville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Baileysville is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileysville
  • Bland County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
    • Rocky Gap
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Rocky Gap is located in Bland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
    • Round Bottom
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Round Bottom is located in Bland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
    • Hicksville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Hicksville is located in Bland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
    • Bastian
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Bland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Mechanicsburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
  • Giles County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
    • Glen Lyn
      (18 miles [29 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
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Lurich is located in Giles County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich
    • Rich Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Shumate
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Shumate is located in Giles County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
    • Narrows
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Narrows is located in Giles County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narrows
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,949 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Narrows <1>
    • Bluff City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Bluff City is located in Giles County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
    • Thessalia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Thessalia is located in Giles County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
    • Pearisburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Poplar Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Poplar Hill is located in Giles County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hill
  • Pulaski County (VA)
    • Sassin ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Sassin is located in Pulaski County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
  • Tazewell County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
    • Pocahontas
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
    • Yards
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Yards is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
    • Bluefield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Falls Mills
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
    • Boissevain
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Boissevain is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boissevain
    • Saint Clair
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
    • Abbs Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Abbs Valley is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
    • Springville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Springville is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
    • Shawver Mill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
    • Little Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Little Town is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
    • Wittens Mills
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
    • Bishop
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Bishop is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop

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.

  • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • St. Peters Lutheran Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Robinett Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Matoaka Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Wright Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Donley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Ross Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Harless Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Hall Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Neal Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Tabor Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Davidson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (390 more) ...
    • Tiller Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • King Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Frye Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 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.<2>

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.

  • Lashmeet
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Lashmeet is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lashmeet
  • Pinoak
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Pinoak is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinoak
  • Spanishburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Duhring
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Duhring is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duhring
  • New Hope
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • New Hope is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
  • Princeton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Flipping
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Flipping is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
  • Coaldale
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Coaldale is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
  • Bramwell
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Freeman
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Freeman is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
  • Ada
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Ada is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
  • Egeria
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Egeria is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egeria
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Maybeury
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Coopers
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Coopers is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
    • Abbs Valley ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Abbs Valley is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley

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 22 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 13 miles [20.9 km]<3>. 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 visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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:

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>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.
<3>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 from Point A (ie- Mount Olive) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.