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 Plum Orchard (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 Plum Orchard. 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 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 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.
Plum Orchard is located in Jackson 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 Jackson County: Meigs (OH), Kanawha, Mason, Putnam, Roane, Wirt & Wood.
Below are the counties that are near Plum Orchard. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Plum Orchard:
- Jackson County (The home county of Plum Orchard)
- The following are listed by their distance from Plum Orchard, with the one closest to Plum Orchard listed first.
- Statts Mills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Statts Mills is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Statts Mills
- Kenna
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Aplin ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Aplin is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aplin
- Kentuck
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Kentuck is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Fairplain
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fairplain is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplain
- Fletcher
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fletcher is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
- Hereford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Hereford is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hereford
- Romance
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Romance is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romance
- Ripley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Angerona
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Angerona is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angerona
- Meadowdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Meadowdale is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowdale
- Flatwoods
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Flatwoods is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
- Cabell County
- Culloden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Culloden is located in Cabell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culloden
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plum Orchard, with the one closest to Plum Orchard listed first.
- Pink
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Pink is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pink
- Rocksdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Rocksdale is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocksdale
- Beech
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Beech is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech
- Oka
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Oka is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oka
- Arnoldsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Arnoldsburg is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnoldsburg
- Hur
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hur is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hur
- Orma
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Orma is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orma
- Gomez ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Gomez is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gomez
- Stinson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Stinson is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Mudfork
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Mudfork is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudfork
- Walnut
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Walnut is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Big Bend
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Big Bend is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plum Orchard, with the one closest to Plum Orchard listed first.
- Porter
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Porter is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Procious
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Procious is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Procious
- Bomont
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bomont is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bomont
- Valley Fork
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Kanawha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plum Orchard, with the one closest to Plum Orchard listed first.
- Island Branch
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Island Branch is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Branch
- Sissonville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Legg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Legg is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Legg
- Aarons
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Aarons is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aarons
- Wills
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Wills is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wills
- Elkview
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Wellford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Wellford is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellford
- Youngs Bottom
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Youngs Bottom is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngs Bottom
- Falling Rock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Falling Rock is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Rock
- Jarretts Ford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jarretts Ford is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarretts Ford
- Big Chimney
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Big Chimney is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Chimney
- Clendenin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lincoln County
- Alum Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Mason County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plum Orchard, with the one closest to Plum Orchard listed first.
- Baden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Baden is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
- Arbuckle
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Arbuckle is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbuckle
- Grimms Landing
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Grimms Landing is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grimms Landing
- Leon
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Leon is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Southside
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Southside is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southside
- Letart
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Letart is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letart
- Flatrock
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Flatrock is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatrock
- Brighton
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Brighton is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Fivemile
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Fivemile is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fivemile
- Arlee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Arlee is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlee
- Upland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Upland is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upland
- New Haven
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plum Orchard, with the one closest to Plum Orchard listed first.
- Liberty
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Liberty is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Sigman
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sigman is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigman
- Paradise
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Paradise is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
- Bancroft
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bancroft is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
- Population from the 2020 Census: 596 people
- Red House
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Poca
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Raymond City
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Raymond City is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond City
- Winfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Eleanor
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Morgans Landing
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Morgans Landing is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Landing
- Buffalo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Indian Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Indian Village is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Roane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plum Orchard, with the one closest to Plum Orchard listed first.
- Flint Town
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Flint Town is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Town
- Woodyard ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Woodyard is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodyard
- Cicerone
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cicerone is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cicerone
- Zona
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Zona is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zona
- Mattie ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mattie is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattie
- Walton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Rushville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Rushville is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushville
- Spencer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Looneyville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Reedy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Reedy is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
- Graux
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Graux is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graux
- Kester ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Kester is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kester
- Wirt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plum Orchard, with the one closest to Plum Orchard listed first.
- Peewee
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Peewee is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peewee
- Lucile
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lucile is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucile
- Windy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Windy is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windy
- Burning Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Burning Springs is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burning Springs
- Creston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Creston is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creston
- Palestine
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Palestine is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Elizabeth
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Gallia County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Plum Orchard, with the one closest to Plum Orchard listed first.
- Cheshire
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cheshire is located in Gallia County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheshire
- Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
- Bladen
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Bladen is located in Gallia County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bladen
- Eureka
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Eureka is located in Gallia County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Meigs County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Plum Orchard, with the one closest to Plum Orchard listed first.
- Letart Falls
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Letart Falls is located in Meigs County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letart Falls
- Plants
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Plants is located in Meigs County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plants
- Portland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Spiller
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Spiller is located in Meigs County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spiller
- Dorcas
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Dorcas is located in Meigs County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorcas
- Racine
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Bashan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bashan is located in Meigs County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bashan
- Syracuse
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Welshtown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Welshtown is located in Meigs County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welshtown
- Keno
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Keno is located in Meigs County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keno
- Middleport
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Plum Orchard, see our County-by-County Page for Plum Orchard.
Cemeteries Near Plum Orchard ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Plum Orchard.
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 Plum Orchard - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Plum Orchard covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Plum Orchard, with the one closest to Plum Orchard listed first.
- Anderson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Gandee Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Williams Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Casto Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Grass Lick Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Skeen Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rhodes Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Woodfell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Siniaville Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Shamblen Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hickory Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Paxton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (785 more) ...
- Hatcher Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Good Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Godby Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<3>
While we didn't find Plum Orchard in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Plum Orchard.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Plum Orchard, with the one closest to Plum Orchard listed first.
- Kenna
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Belgrove
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Belgrove is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgrove
- Statts Mills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Statts Mills is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Statts Mills
- Kentuck
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Kentuck is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Edgar ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Edgar is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgar
- Fairplain
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fairplain is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplain
- Higby ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Higby is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higby
- Goldtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Goldtown is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldtown
- Red Knob
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Red Knob is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Knob
- Gay
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gay is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gay
- Given
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Given is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Given
- Flatfork
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Flatfork is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatfork
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Louther
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Louther is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louther
- Hereford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Hereford is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hereford
- Parchment Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Parchment Valley is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parchment Valley
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Plum Orchard. See our List of 1890's Communities around Plum Orchard.
Newspapers Published in Plum Orchard ...
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 7 newspapers that have been published in the area around Plum Orchard.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Plum Orchard, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Plum Orchard.
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 websites either 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 Plum Orchard:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Jackson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cabell County
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Kanawha County
- Lincoln County
- Mason County
- Putnam County
- Roane County
- Wirt County
- Gallia County
- Meigs County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for West Virginia
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Plum Orchard, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Plum Orchard) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |