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 Oscar (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 Oscar. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Oscar is located in Greenbrier 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 Greenbrier County: Alleghany (VA), Bath (VA), Fayette, Monroe, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Summers & Webster.
Below are the counties that are near Oscar. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oscar:
- Greenbrier County (The home county of Oscar)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Loveridge
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Loveridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveridge
- Loveridge is located in Greenbrier County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Loveridge
- From Oscar to Loveridge
- Falling Spring
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Falling Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Spring
- Falling Spring is located in Greenbrier County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
- Spring Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Sunlight
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Frankford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Unus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Williamsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Anthony
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Clendenenville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Neola
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Brink ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brink have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brink
- Brink is located in Greenbrier County
- Wild Meadow
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Richlands
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Maywood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Maywood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maywood
- Maywood is located in Fayette County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Maywood
- From Oscar to Maywood
- Spring Dale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bellwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Hilton Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Meadow Bridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Bridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Bridge
- Meadow Bridge is located in Fayette County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Monroe County
- Wolfcreek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Richwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richwood
- Richwood is located in Nicholas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,842 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richwood <3>
- Saxman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Saxman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxman
- Saxman is located in Nicholas County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Saxman
- From Oscar to Saxman
- Peaser Junction ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Carl
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carl. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
- Carl is located in Nicholas County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Carl
- From Oscar to Carl
- Tolbert
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Nettie
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Odell Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Donald
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Donald. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
- Donald is located in Nicholas County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Donald
- From Oscar to Donald
- Snow Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Craigsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Craigsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigsville
- Craigsville is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Craigsville <3>
- Beaver
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Runa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Runa. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runa
- Runa is located in Nicholas County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Runa
- From Oscar to Runa
- Tioga
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pocahontas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Hillsboro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Hillsboro is located in Pocahontas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 236 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hillsboro <3>
- Watoga ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Watoga. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watoga
- Watoga is located in Pocahontas County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Watoga
- From Oscar to Watoga
- Buckeye
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Marlinton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marlinton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlinton
- Marlinton is located in Pocahontas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 956 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marlinton <3>
- Edray
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Huntersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Onoto
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Thorny Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Slaty Fork
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Frost
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Frost. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
- Frost is located in Pocahontas County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Frost
- From Oscar to Frost
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Upperglade
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Camden-on-Gauley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camden-on-Gauley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden-on-Gauley
- Camden-on-Gauley is located in Webster County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Welch Glade
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cowen
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Excelsior
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Halo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Halo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halo
- Halo is located in Webster County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Halo
- From Oscar to Halo
- Ralph
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ralph. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ralph
- Ralph is located in Webster County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Ralph
- From Oscar to Ralph
- Addison
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Addison have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Addison is located in Webster County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
- Alleghany County (VA)
- Moss Run
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bath County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Greenwood ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Greenwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Greenwood is located in Bath County (VA)
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Greenwood
- From Oscar to Greenwood
- Mountain Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Cowardin ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cowardin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowardin
- Cowardin is located in Bath County (VA)
- Carloover
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Healing Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Mitchelltown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Warm Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Covington City (VA)
- Covington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Covington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covington
- Covington is located in Covington City (VA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,639 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Covington <3>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oscar, see our County-by-County Page for Oscar.
Cemeteries Near Oscar ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oscar.
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 Oscar covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Mountain Gate Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mountain Gate Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mountain Gate Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Sunset Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunset Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunset Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Morning Side Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Morning Side Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Morning Side Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Kellison Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kellison Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kellison Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Reed Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reed Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reed Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Pilgrim Rest Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pilgrim Rest Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pilgrim Rest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Walnut Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walnut Grove Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walnut Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Enon Baptist Church Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Baber Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Baber Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Baber Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Watts Chapel Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Watts Chapel Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Watts Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Richwood Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Beaver Creek Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beaver Creek Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beaver Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Continue List (88 more) ...
- Hinkle Mtn. Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hinkle Mtn. Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hinkle Mtn. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Mountain View Memorial Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mountain View Memorial Park
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mountain View Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Rosewood Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
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>
While we didn't find Oscar in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oscar.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Loveridge
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Loveridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveridge
- Loveridge is located in Greenbrier County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Loveridge
- From Oscar to Loveridge
- Renicks Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Renicks Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renicks Valley
- Renicks Valley is located in Greenbrier County
- Jacox
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jacox have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacox
- Jacox is located in Pocahontas County
- Leonard
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leonard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonard
- Leonard is located in Greenbrier County
- Falling Spring
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Falling Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Spring
- Falling Spring is located in Greenbrier County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
- Friars Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Friars Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friars Hill
- Friars Hill is located in Greenbrier County
- Locust
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locust have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust
- Locust is located in Pocahontas County
- Lobelia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lobelia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lobelia
- Lobelia is located in Pocahontas County
- Williamsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Frankford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Sue
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sue have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sue
- Sue is located in Greenbrier County
- Mill Point
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mill Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Point
- Mill Point is located in Pocahontas County
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Alvon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alvon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvon
- Alvon is located in Greenbrier County
- Duo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duo
- Duo is located in Greenbrier County
- Richlands
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oscar. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oscar.
Newspapers Published in Oscar ...
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 Oscar.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oscar, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oscar.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Oscar:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Greenbrier County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fayette County
- Monroe County
- Nicholas County
- Pocahontas County
- Webster County
- Alleghany County
- Bath County
- Covington City
- Cemetery Information and Directories for West Virginia
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Oscar. 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> | 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. |
<2> | 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. |
<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 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. |
<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 Oscar, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
<6> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Oscar) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oscar. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.0579, Longitude: -80.3566 In this case, the coordinates for Oscar have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |