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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 Purgitsville (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 Purgitsville. 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 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.

Purgitsville is located in Hampshire 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 Hampshire County: Allegany (MD), Frederick (VA), Hardy, Mineral & Morgan.

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

  • Hampshire County     (The home county of Purgitsville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purgitsville, with the one closest to Purgitsville listed first.
    • Junction
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Junction is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
    • Romney
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Romney is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,680 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Romney <1>
    • Vance
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Vance is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
    • Wapocomo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Wapocomo is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapocomo
    • Augusta
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Ritters
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Ritters is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritters
    • Sedan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Sedan is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedan
    • Springfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Three Churches
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Three Churches is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Churches
    • Points
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Points is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Points
    • Donaldson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Donaldson is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
    • Higginsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Higginsville is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginsville
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purgitsville, with the one closest to Purgitsville listed first.
    • Medley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Lahmansville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lahmansville is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lahmansville
    • Greenland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Greenland is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
    • Arthur
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Arthur is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
    • Maysville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Maysville is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
    • Seymourville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Seymourville is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymourville
    • Petersburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Dorcas
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Dorcas is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorcas
    • Bayard
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Bayard is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayard
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
    • Wilson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Wilson is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
    • Pansy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Pansy is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pansy
    • Dobbin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Dobbin is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobbin
  • Hardy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purgitsville, with the one closest to Purgitsville listed first.
    • Inkerman
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Inkerman is located in Hardy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inkerman
    • Fort Run
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Fort Run is located in Hardy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Run
    • Moorefield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Baker
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Baker is located in Hardy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
    • Durgon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Durgon is located in Hardy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durgon
    • Wardensville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Lost City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Mathias
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Peru
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Peru is located in Hardy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
  • Mineral County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purgitsville, with the one closest to Purgitsville listed first.
    • Burlington
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Headsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Headsville is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
    • New Creek
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hartmansville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Hartmansville is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartmansville
    • Sulphur City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Sulphur City is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur City
    • Keyser
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Elk Garden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Shaw
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Shaw is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
    • Harrison
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Harrison is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
    • Windom ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Windom is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
    • Piedmont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Fort Ashby
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Pendleton County
    • Ketterman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Ketterman is located in Pendleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ketterman
  • Tucker County
    • Davis
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Allegany County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purgitsville, with the one closest to Purgitsville listed first.
    • Luke
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Luke is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luke
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
    • Westernport
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Barton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Barton is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
    • Rawlings
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Moscow
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Moscow is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
    • Nikep
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Nikep is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nikep
    • Frost ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Frost is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
    • Lonaconing
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Gilmore
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Gilmore is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
    • Pinto
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Pinto is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinto
    • Cresaptown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Midland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Midland is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
  • Garrett County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purgitsville, with the one closest to Purgitsville listed first.
    • Kitzmiller
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bloomington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Bloomington is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
    • Schell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Schell is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
    • Swanton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Altamont
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Altamont is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
    • Fort Pendleton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Fort Pendleton is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Pendleton
    • Deer Park
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Wilson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Wilson is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
    • Loch Lynn Heights
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Loch Lynn Heights is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loch Lynn Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 525 people
    • Mountain Lake Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Mountain Lake Park is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,065 people
    • Oakland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Oakland is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,803 people
    • Red House
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Red House is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red House
  • Frederick County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purgitsville, with the one closest to Purgitsville listed first.
    • Lehew
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Lehew is located in Frederick County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lehew
    • Rock Enon Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Rock Enon Springs is located in Frederick County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Enon Springs
    • Mountain Falls
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Mountain Falls is located in Frederick County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Falls
    • Good
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Good is located in Frederick County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good
  • Shenandoah County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purgitsville, with the one closest to Purgitsville listed first.
    • Jerome
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jerome is located in Shenandoah County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
    • Zepp
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Zepp is located in Shenandoah County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zepp
    • Columbia Furnace
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Columbia Furnace is located in Shenandoah County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia Furnace
    • Basye - Bryce Mountain
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Mount Olive
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Olive is located in Shenandoah County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive

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

Cemeteries Near Purgitsville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Purgitsville.

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 Purgitsville - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Purgitsville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Old Pine Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Green Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Elijah High Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Arnold Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Peerce Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Sloan Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Bane Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Canon Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hull - Utta Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Schoemaker Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Ferrbee Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (209 more) ...
    • Stone Chapel Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Bever Run Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Thrush Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Purgitsville had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Glebe ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Glebe is located in Hampshire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glebe
  • Junction
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Junction is located in Hampshire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
  • Williamsport
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Williamsport is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsport
  • Burlington
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Old Fields
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Old Fields is located in Hardy County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Fields
  • Antioch
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Antioch is located in Mineral County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
  • Medley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Ridgeville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Ridgeville is located in Mineral County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
  • Martin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Martin is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
  • Doman ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Doman is located in Hardy County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doman
  • Inkerman
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Inkerman is located in Hardy County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inkerman
  • Laurel Dale
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Laurel Dale is located in Mineral County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Dale
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Lahmansville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lahmansville is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lahmansville
    • Fabius ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Fabius is located in Hardy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fabius
    • Kirby
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Kirby is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirby

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

Newspapers Published in Purgitsville ...

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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Purgitsville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Purgitsville, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Purgitsville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Purgitsville:

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>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 Purgitsville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Purgitsville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.