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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 Ottawa (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 Ottawa. 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.

Ottawa is located in Boone 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 Boone County: Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Raleigh & Wyoming.

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

  • Boone County     (The home county of Ottawa)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottawa, with the one closest to Ottawa listed first.
    • Clothier
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jeffrey
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Ramage
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Secoal
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Secoal. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Secoal
      • Secoal is located in Boone County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Secoal
      • From Ottawa to Secoal
    • Hewett
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Greenview
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Powell Creek
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Havana
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Havana. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana
      • Havana is located in Boone County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Havana
      • From Ottawa to Havana
    • Low Gap
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Low Gap. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
      • Low Gap is located in Boone County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Low Gap
      • From Ottawa to Low Gap
    • Lanta
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lanta. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanta
      • Lanta is located in Boone County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lanta
      • From Ottawa to Lanta
    • Quinland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Quinland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinland
      • Quinland is located in Boone County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Quinland
      • From Ottawa to Quinland
    • Bigson
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottawa, with the one closest to Ottawa listed first.
    • Elkridge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elkridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkridge
      • Elkridge is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elkridge
      • From Ottawa to Elkridge
    • McDunn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Powellton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Powellton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
      • Powellton is located in Fayette County
    • Pax
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pax have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pax
      • Pax is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
    • Roseville ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Roseville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
      • Roseville is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Roseville
      • From Ottawa to Roseville
    • Kimberly
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Montgomery
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Kanawha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottawa, with the one closest to Ottawa listed first.
    • Acme
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Winifrede
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Carbon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Eskdale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Chesapeake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chesapeake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesapeake
      • Chesapeake is located in Kanawha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,393 people
    • Marmet
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marmet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marmet
      • Marmet is located in Kanawha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,351 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marmet <3>
    • Ruth
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ruth. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
      • Ruth is located in Kanawha County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ruth
      • From Ottawa to Ruth
    • Belle
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle
      • Belle is located in Kanawha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,108 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Belle <3>
    • Cabin Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Dry Branch
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Ronda
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Witcher
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottawa, with the one closest to Ottawa listed first.
    • Alkol
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Harts
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harts have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harts
      • Harts is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harts <3>
    • East ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East
      • East is located in Lincoln County
    • Palermo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Spears ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spears have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spears
      • Spears is located in Lincoln County
    • Priestley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Sod
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Yawkey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Tango
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tango. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tango
      • Tango is located in Lincoln County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tango
      • From Ottawa to Tango
    • Alum Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Wewanta
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Kinder ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kinder have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinder
      • Kinder is located in Lincoln County
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottawa, with the one closest to Ottawa listed first.
    • Mitchell Heights
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mitchell Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell Heights
      • Mitchell Heights is located in Logan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 274 people
    • Fort Branch
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fort Branch. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Branch
      • Fort Branch is located in Logan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fort Branch
      • From Ottawa to Fort Branch
    • Peach Creek
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Banco
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Chapmanville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • West Logan
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Logan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Logan
      • West Logan is located in Logan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Logan <3>
    • Logan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Big Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Accoville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Hedgeview
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Thompson Town
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thompson Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson Town
      • Thompson Town is located in Logan County
    • Wilkinson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Mingo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottawa, with the one closest to Ottawa listed first.
    • Dingess
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Gilbert
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilbert have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert
      • Gilbert is located in Mingo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 378 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilbert <3>
    • Pie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Myrtle
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Musick
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Baisden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Gilbert Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilbert Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert Creek
      • Gilbert Creek is located in Mingo County
    • Delbarton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Red Jacket
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Red Jacket. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Jacket
      • Red Jacket is located in Mingo County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Red Jacket
      • From Ottawa to Red Jacket
    • Wharncliffe
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Matewan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Matewan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matewan
      • Matewan is located in Mingo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 415 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Matewan <3>
    • Blackberry City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blackberry City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackberry City
      • Blackberry City is located in Mingo County
  • Raleigh County
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottawa, with the one closest to Ottawa listed first.
    • Cove Gap
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Wilsondale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Nestlow
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Kiahsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kiahsville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiahsville
      • Kiahsville is located in Wayne County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kiahsville
      • From Ottawa to Kiahsville
    • Doane
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Doane. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doane
      • Doane is located in Wayne County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Doane
      • From Ottawa to Doane
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottawa, with the one closest to Ottawa listed first.
    • Kopperston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Oceana
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Clear Fork
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Cub City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cub City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cub City
      • Cub City is located in Wyoming County
    • Sun Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sun Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Hill
      • Sun Hill is located in Wyoming County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sun Hill
      • From Ottawa to Sun Hill
    • Uno
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Turkey
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Turkey. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey
      • Turkey is located in Wyoming County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Turkey
      • From Ottawa to Turkey
    • Baileysville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Keyrock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Rock View
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rock View. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock View
      • Rock View is located in Wyoming County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rock View
      • From Ottawa to Rock View
    • Wyoming
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Fanny
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fanny. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanny
      • Fanny is located in Wyoming County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fanny
      • From Ottawa to Fanny
  • Pike County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ottawa, with the one closest to Ottawa listed first.
    • Buskirk
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • McCarr
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McCarr have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCarr
      • McCarr is located in Pike County (KY)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McCarr <3>

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

Cemeteries Near Ottawa ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ottawa.

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 Ottawa covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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.<7>

While we didn't find Ottawa in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ottawa.

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

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

Newspapers Published in Ottawa ...

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 14 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ottawa.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ottawa, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ottawa.

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 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 Ottawa:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ottawa. 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>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 from Point A (ie- Ottawa) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ottawa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9578, Longitude: -81.8165    
<6>If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<7>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 Ottawa, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025