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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 Orleans Cross Roads (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 Orleans Cross Roads. 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 Orleans Cross Roads ...

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 have occurred.

  • A typical abbreviation for Orleans Cross Roads: Orleans Xrds.
  • While the name of this community is Orleans Cross Roads, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Orleans Cross Roads may originally have been Orlean's Cross Roads.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Orleans Cross Roads might be written as Orlean Cross Roads.

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 northwest 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 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.

Orleans Cross Roads is located in Morgan 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 Morgan County: Allegany (MD), Washington (MD), Frederick (VA), Berkeley & Hampshire.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Orleans Cross Roads ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orleans Cross Roads.

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 Orleans Cross Roads covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Patricks Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Patricks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Martin Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Martin Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Martin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dyche Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dyche Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dyche Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Roby Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roby Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roby Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rine Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rine Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rine Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Nebo Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Nebo Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Nebo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Great Cacapon Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Great Cacapon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Great Cacapon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cherry Orchard Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cherry Orchard Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cherry Orchard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Horn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Horn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Horn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bevans Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bevans Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bevans Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fifty-Four Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fifty-Four Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fifty-Four Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sulphur Springs Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sulphur Springs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sulphur Springs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (213 more) ...
    • Camp Hill Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Camp Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Camp Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Miller Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Miller Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Miller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Bethel Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Orleans Cross Roads had a population of 11 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Little Orleans
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Orleans have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Orleans
    • Little Orleans is located in Allegany County (MD)
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Little Orleans <3>
  • Doe Gully
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Great Cacapon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Great Cacapon have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Cacapon
    • Great Cacapon is located in Morgan County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Great Cacapon <3>
  • Magnolia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Piney Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Piney Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Grove
    • Piney Grove is located in Allegany County (MD)
  • Paw Paw
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sir Johns Run
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sir Johns Run have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sir Johns Run
    • Sir Johns Run is located in Morgan County
  • Berkeley Springs
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Little Cacapon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Cacapon have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Cacapon
    • Little Cacapon is located in Hampshire County
  • Town Creek ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Town Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Creek
    • Town Creek is located in Allegany County (MD)
  • Okonoko
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Okonoko have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okonoko
    • Okonoko is located in Hampshire County
  • Ridersville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ridersville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridersville
    • Ridersville is located in Morgan County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Elbinsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elbinsville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbinsville
      • Elbinsville is located in Bedford County (PA)
    • Stotlers Crossroads
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stotlers Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stotlers Crossroads
      • Stotlers Crossroads is located in Morgan County
    • Hancock
      (11 miles [17.7 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 Orleans Cross Roads. See our List of 1890's Communities around Orleans Cross Roads.

Newspapers Published in Orleans Cross Roads ...

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 66 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orleans Cross Roads.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Orleans Cross Roads, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Orleans Cross Roads.

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 Orleans Cross Roads:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Orleans Cross Roads. 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>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 Orleans Cross Roads, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Orleans Cross Roads) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Orleans Cross Roads. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.6248, Longitude: -78.3791       In this case, the coordinates for Orleans Cross Roads have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025