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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 Ridgeville (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 Ridgeville. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Ridgeville is located in Mineral 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 Mineral County: Allegany (MD), Garrett (MD), Grant, Hampshire & Hardy.

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

  • Mineral County     (The home county of Ridgeville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
    • New Creek
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Burlington
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Keyser
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Headsville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Headsville is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
    • Sulphur City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Sulphur City is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur City
    • Shaw
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Shaw is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
    • Hartmansville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Hartmansville is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartmansville
    • Piedmont
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Windom ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Windom is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
    • Elk Garden
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Harrison
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Harrison is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
    • Schell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Schell is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
    • Medley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Greenland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Greenland is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
    • Lahmansville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Lahmansville is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lahmansville
    • Maysville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Maysville is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
    • Arthur
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Arthur is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
    • Bayard
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Bayard is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayard
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
    • Seymourville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Seymourville is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymourville
    • Wilson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Wilson is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
    • Dobbin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Dobbin is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobbin
    • Petersburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Dorcas
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Dorcas is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorcas
    • Hopeville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Hopeville is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeville
  • Hampshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
    • Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Junction is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
    • Romney
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • 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 east)
      • Vance is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
    • Wapocomo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Wapocomo is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapocomo
    • Ritters
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Ritters is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritters
    • Springfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Three Churches
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Three Churches is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Churches
    • Augusta
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Donaldson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Donaldson is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
    • Points
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Points is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Points
    • Higginsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Higginsville is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginsville
    • Sedan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Sedan is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedan
  • Hardy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
    • Inkerman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Inkerman is located in Hardy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inkerman
    • Fort Run
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Fort Run is located in Hardy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Run
    • Moorefield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Durgon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Durgon is located in Hardy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durgon
    • Baker
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Baker is located in Hardy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
    • Wardensville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Lost City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Preston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
    • Horse Shoe Run
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Horse Shoe Run is located in Preston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Shoe Run
    • Aurora
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Carmel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Carmel is located in Preston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel
    • Terra Alta
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Tucker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
    • Davis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Pierce
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Pierce is located in Tucker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce
    • Thomas
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Allegany County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
    • Westernport
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Luke
      (9 miles [14.5 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
    • Barton
      (12 miles [19.3 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
    • Moscow
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Moscow is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
    • Nikep
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Nikep is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nikep
    • Rawlings
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lonaconing
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Frost ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Frost is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
    • Gilmore
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Gilmore is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
    • Midland
      (16 miles [25.7 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
    • Ocean
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Ocean is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean
    • Pinto
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Pinto is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinto
  • Garrett County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
    • Bloomington
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Bloomington is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
    • Kitzmiller
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Swanton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Schell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Schell is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
    • Altamont
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Altamont is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
    • Deer Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Fort Pendleton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Fort Pendleton is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Pendleton
    • Loch Lynn Heights
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • 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
    • Avilton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Avilton is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
    • Bittinger
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mountain Lake Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • 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
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Oakland is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,803 people
  • Bedford County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
    • Cooks Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
    • Stringtown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Stringtown is located in Bedford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
  • Somerset County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
    • Wellersburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Wellersburg is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellersburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
    • Salisbury
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • West Salisbury
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • West Salisbury is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salisbury
    • Boynton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Boynton is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
    • Coal Run
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Coal Run is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Run
    • Wittenberg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Wittenberg is located in Somerset County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittenberg

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

Cemeteries Near Ridgeville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ridgeville.

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

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

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

  • Cundiff Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • John Liller Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Thrush Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Stone Chapel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Rawlings Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Arnold Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Thrush Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Michaels Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Thrush Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • McDonald Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Duling Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Davis Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (223 more) ...
    • Sloan Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Roderick Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Delawder Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Ridgeville had a population of 45 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Antioch
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Antioch is located in Mineral County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
  • Burlington
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Laurel Dale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Laurel Dale is located in Mineral County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Dale
  • Keyser
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Junction
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Junction is located in Hampshire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
  • Headsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Headsville is located in Mineral County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
  • Hartmansville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Hartmansville is located in Mineral County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartmansville
  • Purgitsville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Purgitsville is located in Hampshire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purgitsville
  • Shaw
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Shaw is located in Mineral County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
  • Westernport
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Piedmont
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • West Virginia Central Junction
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Bloomington
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Bloomington is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
    • Reeses Mill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Reeses Mill is located in Mineral County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeses Mill
    • Dawson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Dawson is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson

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

Newspapers Published in Ridgeville ...

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 Ridgeville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ridgeville, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ridgeville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Ridgeville:

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