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 Orton (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 Orton. 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 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.
Orton is located in Gilmer 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 Gilmer County: Braxton, Calhoun, Doddridge, Lewis & Ritchie.
Below are the counties that are near Orton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Orton:
- Gilmer County (The home county of Orton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Normantown
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Stumptown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Stumptown is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stumptown
- Shock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Shock is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shock
- Cedarville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Cedarville is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- De Kalb
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- De Kalb is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Kalb
- Glenville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Truebada
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Truebada is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truebada
- Stouts Mills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Stouts Mills is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stouts Mills
- Sand Fork
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sand Fork is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Fork
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Alice
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Alice is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
- Baldwin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Baldwin is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Newberne
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Newberne is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newberne
- Braxton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Progress ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Progress is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progress
- Chapel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Chapel is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel
- Sleith ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Sleith is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleith
- Wilsie
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Wilsie is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsie
- Arnett
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Arnett is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnett
- Exchange
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Clem
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Clem is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clem
- Elmira
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Elmira is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
- Gassaway
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Lloydsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Lloydsville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydsville
- Burnsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Frametown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Frametown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frametown
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Staten
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Staten is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staten
- Russet
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Russet is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russet
- Grantsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gomez ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gomez is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gomez
- Orma
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Orma is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orma
- Arnoldsburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Arnoldsburg is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnoldsburg
- Losie ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Losie is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Losie
- Walnut
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Walnut is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Hur
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Hur is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hur
- Stinson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Stinson is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Beech
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Beech is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech
- Big Bend
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Big Bend is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Lydia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lydia is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lydia
- Ira
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Dink
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Dink is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dink
- Gould
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Harrison
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Wattsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Wattsville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Valley Fork
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Spread
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Spread is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
- Widen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Widen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widen
- Clay
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Procious
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Procious is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Procious
- Elkhurst
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Elkhurst is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
- Doddridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Grove is located in Doddridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove
- Saint Clara
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Clara is located in Doddridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clara
- Coldwater
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Coldwater is located in Doddridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Market
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Market is located in Doddridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Market
- Avon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Avon is located in Doddridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Duckworth
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Duckworth is located in Doddridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duckworth
- New Milton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kanawha County
- Wellford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wellford is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellford
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Vadis
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Vadis is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vadis
- Alum Bridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Alum Bridge is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alum Bridge
- Hurst
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hurst is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurst
- Camden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Camden is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
- Crawford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Crawford is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Duffy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Duffy is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffy
- Alkires Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Alkires Mills is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkires Mills
- Cox Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cox Town is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox Town
- Smith Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Smith Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Village
- Weston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Garton Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Garton Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garton Village
- Valley Chapel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Nicholas County
- Birch River
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ritchie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Burnt House
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Burnt House is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt House
- Lawford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Lawford is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawford
- Auburn
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Auburn is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
- Smithville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Smithville is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithville
- Berea
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Berea is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berea
- Slab
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Slab is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab
- Cantwell
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Cantwell is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cantwell
- Oxbow
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Oxbow is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxbow
- Pullman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Pullman is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pullman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Cokeleys
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cokeleys is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokeleys
- Harrisville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Cisco
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cisco is located in Ritchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisco
- Roane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Triplett
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Triplett is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triplett
- Roxalana
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Roxalana is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxalana
- Graux
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Graux is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graux
- Millard
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Millard is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millard
- Spencer
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Looneyville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Rushville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Rushville is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushville
- Kester ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Kester is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kester
- Pigeon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Pigeon is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Reedy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Reedy is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
- Walton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Zona
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Zona is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zona
- Upshur County
- Frenchton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Frenchton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchton
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Replete
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Replete is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Replete
- Erbacon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Erbacon is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erbacon
- Cleveland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Big Run
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Big Run is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Wirt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Creston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Creston is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creston
- Burning Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Burning Springs is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burning Springs
- Lucile
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Lucile is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucile
- Elizabeth
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Palestine
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Palestine is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Freeport
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Freeport is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Orton, see our County-by-County Page for Orton.
Cemeteries Near Orton ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orton.
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 Orton - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Orton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Orton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Mollahan Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Meadows Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Turner Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Snakeroot Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Collins Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Elihu - Stump Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Currycomb Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Cedarville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Cedarville Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Cedarville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1961158 <2>
- Moss Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Bennett Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Sylvester Stump Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (528 more) ...
- Burk Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Keyster Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bell Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Orton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Orton.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Orton, with the one closest to Orton listed first.
- Normantown
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Bennett ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bennett is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennett
- Stumptown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Stumptown is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stumptown
- Cedarville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Cedarville is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Rosedale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Rosedale is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
- Progress ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Progress is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progress
- Hope ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Hope is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
- Staten
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Staten is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staten
- De Kalb
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- De Kalb is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Kalb
- German ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- German is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German
- Chapel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Chapel is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel
- Glenville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Henrietta
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Henrietta is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
- Sycamore
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Sycamore is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
- Home
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Home is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Orton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Orton.
Newspapers Published in Orton ...
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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orton.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Orton, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Orton.
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 Orton:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Gilmer County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Braxton County
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Doddridge County
- Kanawha County
- Lewis County
- Nicholas County
- Ritchie County
- Roane County
- Upshur County
- Webster County
- Wirt 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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Orton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 from Point A (ie- Orton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |