Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Pear. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Pear to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Pear, 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 Pear (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 Pear. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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 Pear is historic, it would have been located within present day Raleigh 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 Raleigh County: Boone, Fayette, Kanawha, Mercer, Summers & Wyoming.
Below are the counties that are near Pear. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pear:
- Raleigh County (The home county of Pear)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pear, with the one closest to Pear listed first.
- Abraham
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Abraham is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abraham
- Grandview
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Grandview is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Royal ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Royal is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Terry
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Terry is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terry
- Clifftop
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Clifftop is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifftop
- Daniels
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Shady Spring
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Beaver
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Piney View
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Piney View is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney View
- Stanaford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Stanaford is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanaford
- White Stick
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- White Stick is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Stick
- Raleigh
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Raleigh is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pear, with the one closest to Pear listed first.
- Quinnimont
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Quinnimont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinnimont
- Prince
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Meadow Bridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Meadow Bridge is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Bridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- McKendree
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- McKendree is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
- Alaska ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Alaska is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
- Spring Dale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Dale is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Dale
- Sewell Knob ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sewell Knob is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewell Knob
- Sewell Knob has also been known as:
- Swell Knob
- Stonecliff ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Stonecliff is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonecliff
- Stonecliff has also been known as:
- Stone Cliff
- Bellwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bellwood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
- Newlyn ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Newlyn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlyn
- East Sewell ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- East Sewell is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sewell
- Harvey
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Harvey is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
- Greenbrier County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pear, with the one closest to Pear listed first.
- Vale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Vale is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Rainelle
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- McRoss
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- McRoss is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRoss
- Alderson
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Charmco
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Hines
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Hines is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hines
- Rupert
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Crawley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Orient Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Orient Hill is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orient Hill
- Kieffer
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kieffer is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieffer
- Frazier
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Frazier is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier
- Crichton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Crichton is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crichton
- Kanawha County
- Carbon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Carbon is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Logan County
- Rich Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Rich Creek is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
- Mercer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pear, with the one closest to Pear listed first.
- Athens
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Elgood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Elgood is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgood
- Oak Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Lashmeet
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lashmeet is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lashmeet
- Princeton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Matoaka
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Matoaka is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pear, with the one closest to Pear listed first.
- Creamery
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Creamery is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Wayside
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wayside is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside
- Wolfcreek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wolfcreek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfcreek
- Ballard
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ballard is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
- Assurance
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Assurance is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assurance
- Wikel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wikel is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wikel
- Union
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Union is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Population from the 2020 Census: 539 people
- Peterstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Hillsdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hillsdale is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pear, with the one closest to Pear listed first.
- Runa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Runa is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runa
- Peaser Junction ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Peaser Junction is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaser Junction
- Snow Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Snow Hill is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Carl
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Carl is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
- Albion ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Albion is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Morrison ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Morrison is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
- Keslers Cross Lanes
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
- Odell Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Odell Town is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odell Town
- Odell Town has also been known as:
- Odell
- Summers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pear, with the one closest to Pear listed first.
- New Richmond ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- New Richmond is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
- Sandstone
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jumping Branch
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
- Brooklin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Brooklin is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
- Hinton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Nimitz
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Nimitz is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimitz
- Bellepoint
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bellepoint is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellepoint
- Packs Ferry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Packs Ferry is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry
- Hilldale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hilldale is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
- True
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- True is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True
- Buck
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Buck is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
- Talcott
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wyoming County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pear, with the one closest to Pear listed first.
- Mullens
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bud
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bud is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
- Giles County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pear, with the one closest to Pear listed first.
- Lurich
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lurich is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich
- Rich Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Glen Lyn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Glen Lyn is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Lyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pear, see our County-by-County Page for Pear.
Cemeteries Near Pear ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pear.
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 Pear - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pear covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pear, with the one closest to Pear listed first.
- New Salem Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Goodson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- William Kidwell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for William Kidwell Cemetery
- The William Kidwell Cemetery has also been known as:
- Kidwell Cemetery
- St. Colmans Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Beechnut Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechnut Cemetery
- The Beechnut Cemetery has also been known as:
- Charles Harrah Cemetery
- Harrah Cemetery
- Jim Harrah Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2608668 <3>
- Plumley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Richmond Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Goddard Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bragg Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Royal Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Adkins Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Meadows Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (287 more) ...
- Meadows Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hicks - Swell Mtn. Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks - Swell Mtn. Cemetery
- The Hicks - Swell Mtn. Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hicks Cemetery
- Hix Cemetery
- Wickline Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.
While we didn't find Pear in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pear.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pear, with the one closest to Pear listed first.
- Glade
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Glade is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade
- Sandstone
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- New Richmond ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- New Richmond is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
- Quinnimont
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Quinnimont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinnimont
- Grandview
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Grandview is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Crow
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Crow is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow
- Brooks
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brooks is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
- Prince
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Crickmer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Crickmer is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crickmer
- McKendree
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- McKendree is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
- Alaska ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Alaska is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
- Green Sulphur Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Daniels
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Shady Spring
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Jumping Branch
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pear. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pear.
Newspapers Published in Pear ...
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 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pear.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pear, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pear.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Pear:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Raleigh County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fayette County
- Greenbrier County
- Kanawha County
- Logan County
- Mercer County
- Monroe County
- Nicholas County
- Summers County
- Wyoming County
- Giles 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 Pear, 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 'straight-line' (or 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- Pear) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |