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 Pence Springs (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 Pence Springs. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Name Variations for Pence Springs ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Pence Springs: Pence Spgs. (or less commonly used: Pence Spngs. or Pence Sprngs.)
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.
Pence Springs is located in Summers 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 Summers County: Giles (VA), Fayette, Greenbrier, Mercer, Monroe & Raleigh.
Below are the counties that are near Pence Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pence Springs:
- Summers County (The home county of Pence Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pence Springs, with the one closest to Pence Springs listed first.
- Riffe
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Riffe is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riffe
- Lowell
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Lowell is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Talcott
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bargers Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bargers Springs is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bargers Springs
- Hilldale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hilldale is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
- Buck
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Buck is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
- Forest Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bellepoint
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Bellepoint is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellepoint
- Brooklin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Brooklin is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
- Hinton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Packs Ferry
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Packs Ferry is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry
- New Richmond ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- New Richmond is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
- Sandstone
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pence Springs, with the one closest to Pence Springs listed first.
- Spring Dale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Spring Dale is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Dale
- Meadow Bridge
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Meadow Bridge is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Bridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Bellwood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Bellwood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
- Maywood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Maywood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maywood
- Quinnimont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Quinnimont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinnimont
- Prince
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Alaska ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Alaska is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
- McKendree
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- McKendree is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
- Clifftop
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hilton Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hilton Village is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
- Sewell Knob ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 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
(25 miles [40.2 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
- East Sewell ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- East Sewell is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sewell
- Greenbrier County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pence Springs, with the one closest to Pence Springs listed first.
- Alderson
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Frazier
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Frazier is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier
- Fort Spring
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Fort Spring is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Spring
- Rockland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Rockland is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
- Vale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Vale is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Ronceverte
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Fairlea
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lewisburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Crawley
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Richlands
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Richlands is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richlands
- Caldwell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Kieffer
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Kieffer is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieffer
- Rupert
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Logan County
- Rich Creek
(21 miles [33.8 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 Pence Springs, with the one closest to Pence Springs listed first.
- Elgood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Elgood is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgood
- Athens
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Willowton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Willowton is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowton
- Oak Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Grove is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Oakvale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Oakvale is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakvale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- East River ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- East River is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
- Princeton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pence Springs, with the one closest to Pence Springs listed first.
- Creamery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Creamery is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Wolfcreek
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Wolfcreek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfcreek
- Wayside
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Wayside is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside
- Union
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Union is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Population from the 2020 Census: 539 people
- Assurance
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Assurance is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assurance
- Wikel
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Wikel is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wikel
- Hillsdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Hillsdale is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Ballard
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Ballard is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
- Hollywood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Hollywood is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
- Peterstown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pence Springs, with the one closest to Pence Springs listed first.
- Carl
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Carl is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
- Peaser Junction ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Peaser Junction is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaser Junction
- Raleigh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pence Springs, with the one closest to Pence Springs listed first.
- Abraham
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Abraham is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abraham
- Shady Spring
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Grandview
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Grandview is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Royal ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Royal is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Clifftop
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Clifftop is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifftop
- Daniels
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Terry
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Terry is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terry
- Beaver
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Piney View
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Piney View is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney View
- Raleigh
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Raleigh is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh
- Tilden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Tilden is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilden
- White Stick
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- White Stick is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Stick
- Stanaford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Stanaford is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanaford
- Craig County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pence Springs, with the one closest to Pence Springs listed first.
- Captain
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Captain is located in Craig County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Captain
- Huffman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Huffman is located in Craig County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Simmonsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Simmonsville is located in Craig County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmonsville
- Giles County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pence Springs, with the one closest to Pence Springs listed first.
- Kire
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Kire is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kire
- Lurich
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Lurich is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich
- Rich Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Glen Lyn
(22 miles [35.4 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
- Bluff City
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bluff City is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Narrows
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Pearisburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Mountain Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Lake is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake
- Pembroke
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Shumate
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Shumate is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
- Eggleston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Goodwins Ferry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Goodwins Ferry is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwins Ferry
- Newport
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Newport is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pence Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Pence Springs.
Cemeteries Near Pence Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pence Springs.
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 Pence Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pence Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pence Springs, with the one closest to Pence Springs listed first.
- Pence Family Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Wayside UMC Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside UMC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Wayside UMC Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the northeast of Wayside.
- The Wayside UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Wayside Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #80240 <2>
- Alderson Fletcher Addition Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Upland Memorial Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Greenbrier Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Huffman Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- New Hope Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Bennett Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Fairview Baptist Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hilltop Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Hicks - Swell Mtn. Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks - Swell Mtn. Cemetery
- The Hicks - Swell Mtn. Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hicks Cemetery
- Hix Cemetery
- Continue List (185 more) ...
- Hanger Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Meadows Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Meadows Family Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Pence Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pence Springs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pence Springs, with the one closest to Pence Springs listed first.
- Lowell
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Lowell is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Riffe
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Riffe is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riffe
- Talcott
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Santifee ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Santifee is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santifee
- Clayton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Clayton is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Hilldale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hilldale is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
- Bargers Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bargers Springs is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bargers Springs
- Wolfcreek
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Wolfcreek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfcreek
- Alderson
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Wiggins
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Wiggins is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiggins
- Wayside
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Wayside is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside
- Johnson Crossroads
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Johnson Crossroads is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson Crossroads
- Continue List (20 more) ...
- Buck
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Buck is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
- Forest Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Knobs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Knobs is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knobs
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pence Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pence Springs.
Newspapers Published in Pence Springs ...
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 Pence Springs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pence Springs, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pence Springs.
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 Pence Springs:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Summers County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fayette County
- Greenbrier County
- Logan County
- Mercer County
- Monroe County
- Nicholas County
- Raleigh County
- Craig County
- Giles 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> | 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- Pence Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Pence Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |