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 Riley (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 Riley. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.
Riley is located in 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 Riley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Riley:
- Raleigh County (The home county of Riley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
- Stanaford
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Stanaford is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanaford
- White Stick
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- White Stick is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Stick
- Sprague
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Sprague is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprague
- Skelton
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Skelton is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skelton
- Piney View
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Piney View is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney View
- Prosperity
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Prosperity is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosperity
- Beckley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bradley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bradley is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Clifftop
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Clifftop is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifftop
- Wickham
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wickham is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickham
- Grandview
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Grandview is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Beaver
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
- Whitesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Whitesville is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 416 people
- Former names for Whitesville:
- Jarrods Valley
- Pritchard City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitesville <1>
- Janie
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Janie is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janie
- Former name for Janie:
- Mordue
- Elk Run Junction
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Elk Run Junction is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Run Junction
- Lindytown ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Lindytown is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindytown
- Sylvester
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Greenwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Greenwood is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Rocklick
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Rocklick is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocklick
- Bald Knob
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Bald Knob is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Knob
- Twilight
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Twilight is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilight
- Keith
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Keith is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keith
- Bandytown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bandytown is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandytown
- Barrett
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Barrett is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrett
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
- Kilsyth
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Kilsyth is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilsyth
- Mount Hope
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Prince
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Quinnimont
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Quinnimont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinnimont
- White Oak Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- White Oak Junction is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak Junction
- McKendree
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- McKendree is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
- Harvey
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Harvey is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
- Redstar
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Redstar is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstar
- Pax
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pax is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pax
- Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
- Alaska ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Alaska is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
- Newlyn ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Newlyn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlyn
- Roseville ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Roseville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
- Greenbrier County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
- Vale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Vale is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Rainelle
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- McRoss
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- McRoss is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRoss
- Charmco
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hines
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hines is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hines
- Rupert
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Orient Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Orient Hill is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orient Hill
- Alderson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Crawley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Crichton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Crichton is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crichton
- Quinwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Quinwood is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Kanawha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
- Carbon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Carbon is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Acme
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Acme is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Eskdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Eskdale is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskdale
- Handley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Handley is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
- Hollygrove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hollygrove is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollygrove
- Hollygrove has also been known as:
- Hollygrove Station
- Hudnall
- Ronda
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ronda is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ronda
- Hugheston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hugheston is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugheston
- Pratt
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pratt is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
- Dry Branch
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
- Glasgow
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- McDowell County
- Northfork
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mercer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
- Lashmeet
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lashmeet is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lashmeet
- Matoaka
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Matoaka is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
- Athens
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Weyanoke
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Weyanoke is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyanoke
- Oak Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
- Creamery
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Creamery is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Wayside
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Wayside is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
- Albion ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Albion is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Beech Glen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Beech Glen is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Glen
- Runa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Runa is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runa
- Dixie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Dixie is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Snow Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Snow Hill is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Summers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
- New Richmond ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- New Richmond is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
- Jumping Branch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
- Sandstone
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Nimitz
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Nimitz is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimitz
- Brooklin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Brooklin is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
- Hinton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bellepoint
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bellepoint is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellepoint
- Packs Ferry
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Packs Ferry is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry
- True
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- True is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True
- Pipestem
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Buck
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Buck is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
- Hilldale
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Hilldale is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
- Wyoming County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
- Mullens
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bud
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bud is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
- Kopperston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Kopperston is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kopperston
- Keyrock
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Keyrock is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyrock
- Rock View
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Rock View is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock View
- Turkey
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Turkey is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey
- Pineville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Oceana
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Mullensville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mullensville is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullensville
- Wyoming
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wyoming is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
- Fanny
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fanny is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanny
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Riley, see our County-by-County Page for Riley.
Cemeteries Near Riley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Riley.
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 Riley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Riley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
- W.T. Warden Family Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for W.T. Warden Family Cemetery
- The W.T. Warden Family Cemetery has also been known as:
- Warden Family Cemetery
- Teel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Wildwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Greenwood Memorial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sunset Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Sebastians Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wright Hunter Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Calfee Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mt. Tabor Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Davis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mt. TaborCemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Continue List (282 more) ...
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Williams Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hall Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hall Family Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Hall Family Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the north of Shady Spring.
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 Riley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Riley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Riley, with the one closest to Riley listed first.
- Prosperity
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Prosperity is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosperity
- Grandview
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Grandview is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Mount Hope
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Daniels
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Crow
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Crow is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow
- Quinnimont
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Quinnimont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinnimont
- Prince
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pemberton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pemberton is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
- McKendree
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- McKendree is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
- Cirtsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cirtsville is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cirtsville
- Shady Spring
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Glade
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Glade is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Lester
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lester is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 312 people
- Alaska ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Alaska is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
- Claremont
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Claremont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Riley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Riley.
Newspapers Published in Riley ...
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 19 newspapers that have been published in the area around Riley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Riley, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Riley.
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 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 Riley:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Raleigh County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Boone County
- Fayette County
- Greenbrier County
- Kanawha County
- McDowell County
- Mercer County
- Monroe County
- Nicholas County
- Summers County
- Wyoming 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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Riley) 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 Riley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |