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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 Ohley (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 Ohley. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Ohley is located in Kanawha County.

To see how the shape of West Virginia's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Kanawha County: Boone, Clay, Fayette, Jackson, Lincoln, Nicholas, Putnam, Raleigh & Roane.

Below are the counties that are near Ohley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ohley:

  • Kanawha County     (The home county of Ohley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ohley, with the one closest to Ohley listed first.
    • Eskdale
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Eskdale is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskdale
    • Ronda
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Ronda is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ronda
    • Acme
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Acme is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
    • Dry Branch
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
    • Cabin Creek
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Cabin Creek is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabin Creek
    • Chelyan
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Chelyan is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelyan
    • Hollygrove
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Hollygrove is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollygrove
      • Hollygrove has also been known as:
      • Hollygrove Station
      • Hudnall
    • Carbon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Carbon is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
    • Cedar Grove
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Cedar Grove is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
    • East Bank
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • East Bank is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bank
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
    • Glasgow
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Handley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Handley is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ohley, with the one closest to Ohley listed first.
    • Joes Creek
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Joes Creek is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joes Creek
    • Orgas
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Orgas is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orgas
    • Coopertown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Coopertown is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopertown
    • Keith
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Keith is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keith
    • Sylvester
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Fosterville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Fosterville is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosterville
    • Elk Run Junction
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Elk Run Junction is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Run Junction
    • Janie
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Janie is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janie
      • Former name for Janie:
      • Mordue
    • Comfort
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Kirbyton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Kirbyton is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyton
    • Nelson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Nelson is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
    • Seth
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ohley, with the one closest to Ohley listed first.
    • Bomont
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bomont is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bomont
    • Porter
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Porter is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
    • Elkhurst
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Elkhurst is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
    • Hartland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Hartland is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
    • Procious
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Procious is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Procious
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ohley, with the one closest to Ohley listed first.
    • Elkridge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Elkridge is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkridge
    • Powellton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Powellton is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
    • Kimberly
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Kimberly is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimberly
    • Mount Carbon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Mount Carbon is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carbon
    • Crescent
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Crescent is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
    • Montgomery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • McDunn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • McDunn is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDunn
    • Smithers
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Cannelton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Cannelton is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannelton
    • Falls View
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Falls View is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls View
    • Gauley Bridge
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Wriston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Wriston is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wriston
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ohley, with the one closest to Ohley listed first.
    • Alum Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Priestley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Priestley is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priestley
    • Sod
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Sod is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sod
    • Alkol
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Alkol is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkol
    • East ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • East is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East
    • Tango
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Tango is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tango
    • Garretts Bend
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Garretts Bend is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garretts Bend
    • Yawkey
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Yawkey is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yawkey
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ohley, with the one closest to Ohley listed first.
    • Sodom
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Sodom is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sodom
    • Braeholm
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Braeholm is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braeholm
  • Nicholas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ohley, with the one closest to Ohley listed first.
    • Beech Glen
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Beech Glen is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Glen
    • Dixie
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Dixie is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
    • Albion ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Albion is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
    • Tipton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Tipton is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
    • Keslers Cross Lanes
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
    • Zela
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Zela is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
    • Morrison ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Morrison is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
  • Raleigh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ohley, with the one closest to Ohley listed first.
    • Dorothy
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Dorothy is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorothy
    • Packsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Packsville is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packsville
    • Montcoal
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Montcoal is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcoal
    • Stickney
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Stickney is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stickney
    • Naoma
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Naoma is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naoma
    • Rock Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Rock Creek is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
    • Arnett
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Pineknob
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Pineknob is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineknob
    • Zada
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Zada is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zada
    • Redbird
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Redbird is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbird
    • Bradley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Bradley is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
    • Sweeneyburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Sweeneyburg is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweeneyburg
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ohley, with the one closest to Ohley listed first.
    • Kopperston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Kopperston is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kopperston
    • Oceana
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Ohley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ohley.

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

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

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

  • Sight Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Foster Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Danville Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Dry Branch Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Sycamore Branch Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Hensley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Pettry Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Perry Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Slaughter Creek Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Craig Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (637 more) ...
    • Massey Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Green Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Pineview Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineview Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Pineview Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Orgas.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #79563 <3>

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 Ohley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ohley.

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

  • Acme
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Acme is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
  • Dry Branch
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
  • Shrewsbury
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Shrewsbury is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shrewsbury
  • Decota
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Decota is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decota
  • Powellton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Powellton is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
  • Crown Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Crown Hill is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown Hill
  • Coalburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Coalburg is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalburg
  • Handley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Handley is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
  • Cedar Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Grove is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
  • East Bank
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • East Bank is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bank
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
  • Mount Carbon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Mount Carbon is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carbon
  • Winifrede Junction
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Winifrede Junction is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winifrede Junction
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Eagle
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Eagle is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle
    • Crescent
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Crescent is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
    • Montgomery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Ohley ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 9 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ohley.

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Ohley:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Ohley) 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 Ohley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.