Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Ophelia. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Ophelia to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Ophelia, please Contact Us.
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
- That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
- We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
- On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Ophelia (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 Ophelia. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Although our information shows that the community of Ophelia is historic, it would have been located within present day Nicholas 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 Nicholas County: Braxton, Clay, Fayette, Greenbrier, Kanawha & Webster.
Below are the counties that are near Ophelia. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ophelia:
- Nicholas County (The home county of Ophelia)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ophelia, with the one closest to Ophelia listed first.
- Odell Town
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Odell Town is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odell Town
- Odell Town has also been known as:
- Odell
- Nettie
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Tolbert
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Tolbert is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolbert
- Donald
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Donald is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
- Saxman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Saxman is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxman
- Snow Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Snow Hill is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Carl
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Carl is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
- Peaser Junction ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Peaser Junction is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaser Junction
- Beaver
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Beaver is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Summersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Runa
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Runa is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runa
- Craigsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Braxton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ophelia, with the one closest to Ophelia listed first.
- Herold
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Herold is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herold
- Little Birch
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Little Birch is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Birch
- Canfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Canfield is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Strange Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Strange Creek is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strange Creek
- Twistville ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Twistville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twistville
- Rockton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Rockton is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockton
- Frametown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Frametown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frametown
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ophelia, with the one closest to Ophelia listed first.
- Widen
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Widen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widen
- Wattsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Wattsville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Harrison
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Clay
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hartland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hartland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Ira
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Spread
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Spread is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
- Elkhurst
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Elkhurst is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
- Gould
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Dink
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dink is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dink
- Valley Fork
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ophelia, with the one closest to Ophelia listed first.
- Clifty
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Clifty is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifty
- Elliot ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Elliot is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot
- Leander
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Leander is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
- Hilton Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hilton Village is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
- Lookout
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Maywood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Maywood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maywood
- Clifftop
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Mulvane ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Mulvane is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulvane
- Bellwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Bellwood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
- Grayden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Grayden is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayden
- Keeneys Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Keeneys Creek is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeneys Creek
- Romont
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Romont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romont
- Greenbrier County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ophelia, with the one closest to Ophelia listed first.
- Brushy Junction ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Brushy Junction is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Junction
- Lile
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lile is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lile
- Crichton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Crichton is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crichton
- Quinwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Quinwood is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Orient Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Orient Hill is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orient Hill
- Charmco
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Hines
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Hines is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hines
- McRoss
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- McRoss is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRoss
- Rainelle
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Rupert
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Crawley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Kieffer
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Kieffer is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieffer
- Pocahontas County
- Hillsboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Raleigh County
- Royal ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Royal is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ophelia, with the one closest to Ophelia listed first.
- Camden-on-Gauley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Camden-on-Gauley is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden-on-Gauley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Welch Glade
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Welch Glade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch Glade
- Cowen
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Upperglade
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Upperglade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upperglade
- Halo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Halo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halo
- Excelsior
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Excelsior is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Erbacon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Erbacon is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erbacon
- Addison
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Addison is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
- Ralph
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ralph is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ralph
- Orndoff
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Orndoff is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orndoff
- Big Run
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Big Run is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ophelia, see our County-by-County Page for Ophelia.
Cemeteries Near Ophelia ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ophelia.
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 Ophelia - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ophelia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ophelia, with the one closest to Ophelia listed first.
- Fields Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Olive Branch Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Downtain Chapel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Fairview Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Dixon Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Penile Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Ward Road Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hickory Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Spruce Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- New Hope Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Gilgal Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Buckhorn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (159 more) ...
- Mountain Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Taylor Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Buckle Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.
Ophelia itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ophelia, with the one closest to Ophelia listed first.
- Leivasy
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Leivasy is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leivasy
- Hominy Falls
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hominy Falls is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hominy Falls
- Fowler Knob
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Fowler Knob is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler Knob
- Snow Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Snow Hill is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Persinger
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Persinger is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persinger
- Lile
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lile is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lile
- Mount Nebo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Pool
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Pool is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pool
- Nutterville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Nutterville is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutterville
- Richwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Craigsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Lookout
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Mount Lookout is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Lookout
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Duo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Duo is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duo
- Enon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Enon is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enon
- Keslers Cross Lanes
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ophelia. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ophelia.
Newspapers Published in Ophelia ...
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 11 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ophelia.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ophelia, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ophelia.
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 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 Ophelia:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Nicholas County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Braxton County
- Clay County
- Fayette County
- Greenbrier County
- Pocahontas County
- Raleigh County
- Webster County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for West Virginia
Footnotes ...
| <1> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Ophelia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ophelia) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |