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 Sand Fork (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 Sand Fork. 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 Sand Fork ...
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 Sand Fork: Sand Frk.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sand Fork. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sand Fork.
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 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.
Sand Fork is located in Clay 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 Clay County: Braxton, Calhoun, Kanawha, Nicholas & Roane.
Below are the counties that are near Sand Fork. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sand Fork:
- Clay County (The home county of Sand Fork)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sand Fork, with the one closest to Sand Fork listed first.
- Harrison
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Gould
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Spread
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Spread is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
- Clay
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Hartland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hartland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Widen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Widen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widen
- Ira
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Dink
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dink is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dink
- Valley Fork
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Wattsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Wattsville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Elkhurst
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Elkhurst is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
- Procious
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Procious is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Procious
- Braxton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sand Fork, with the one closest to Sand Fork listed first.
- Strange Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Strange Creek is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strange Creek
- Elmira
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Elmira is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
- Clem
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Clem is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clem
- Herold
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Herold is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herold
- Rockton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rockton is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockton
- Sleith ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Sleith is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleith
- Frametown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Frametown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frametown
- Twistville ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Twistville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twistville
- Canfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Canfield is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Wilsie
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wilsie is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsie
- Little Birch
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Little Birch is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Birch
- Gassaway
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sand Fork, with the one closest to Sand Fork listed first.
- Mudfork
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Mudfork is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudfork
- Stinson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Stinson is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Losie ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Losie is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Losie
- Oka
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Oka is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oka
- Walnut
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Walnut is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Gomez ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Gomez is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gomez
- Orma
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Orma is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orma
- Beech
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Beech is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech
- Arnoldsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Arnoldsburg is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnoldsburg
- Pink
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Pink is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pink
- Russet
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Russet is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russet
- Rocksdale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rocksdale is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocksdale
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sand Fork, with the one closest to Sand Fork listed first.
- Elliot ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Elliot is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot
- Leander
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Leander is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
- Romont
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Romont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romont
- Mulvane ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mulvane is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulvane
- Clifty
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Clifty is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifty
- Ansted
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Victor
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Victor is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victor
- Gauley Bridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hawks Nest
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Hawks Nest is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawks Nest
- Cannelton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cannelton is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannelton
- Smithers
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Beckwith
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Gilmer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sand Fork, with the one closest to Sand Fork listed first.
- Shock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Shock is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shock
- Normantown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Stumptown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Stumptown is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stumptown
- Cedarville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Cedarville is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Kanawha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sand Fork, with the one closest to Sand Fork listed first.
- Apgah ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Apgah is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apgah
- Clendenin
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Wellford
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Wellford is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellford
- Reamer
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Reamer is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reamer
- Falling Rock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Falling Rock is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Rock
- Coco
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Coco is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coco
- Youngs Bottom
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Youngs Bottom is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngs Bottom
- Three Mile
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Three Mile is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Mile
- Elkview
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Hugheston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hugheston is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugheston
- Jarretts Ford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Jarretts Ford is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarretts Ford
- Pinch
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Pinch is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinch
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sand Fork, with the one closest to Sand Fork listed first.
- Zela
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Zela is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
- Muddlety
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Muddlety is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddlety
- Birch River
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Tipton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Tipton is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Summersville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Keslers Cross Lanes
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
- Albion ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Albion is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Morrison ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Morrison is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
- Beech Glen
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Beech Glen is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Glen
- Dixie
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Dixie is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Tioga
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Beaver
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Beaver is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Roane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sand Fork, with the one closest to Sand Fork listed first.
- Pigeon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pigeon is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Kester ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Kester is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kester
- Roxalana
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Roxalana is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxalana
- Looneyville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Graux
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Graux is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graux
- Rushville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Rushville is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushville
- Walton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mattie ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Mattie is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattie
- Spencer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Woodyard ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Woodyard is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodyard
- Zona
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Zona is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zona
- Cicerone
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Cicerone is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cicerone
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sand Fork, with the one closest to Sand Fork listed first.
- Erbacon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Erbacon is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erbacon
- Camden-on-Gauley
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Camden-on-Gauley is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden-on-Gauley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Cowen
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Welch Glade
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Welch Glade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch Glade
- Halo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Halo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halo
- Upperglade
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Upperglade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upperglade
- Excelsior
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Excelsior is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Big Run
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Big Run is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sand Fork, see our County-by-County Page for Sand Fork.
Cemeteries Near Sand Fork ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sand Fork.
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 Sand Fork - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sand Fork covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sand Fork, with the one closest to Sand Fork listed first.
- Triplett Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Woods Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bogg Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Ramsey Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Reed - Stephenson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed - Stephenson Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Reed - Stephenson Cemetery is located outside and to the north of Clay.
- The Reed - Stephenson Cemetery has also been known as:
- Reed - Stephenson - Pierson Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1978620 <2>
- Kyle Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Turner Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Chapman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- King Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Acree Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cherrytree Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Little Laurel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (458 more) ...
- Blue Knob Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Wilson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Walnut Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
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 Sand Fork in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sand Fork.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sand Fork, with the one closest to Sand Fork listed first.
- Gould
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Harrison
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Ira
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Valley Fork
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Wattsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Wattsville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Strange Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Strange Creek is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strange Creek
- Gilboa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Gilboa is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilboa
- Procious
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Procious is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Procious
- Lizemores
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lizemores is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lizemores
- Zela
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Zela is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
- Enon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Enon is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enon
- Hookersville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hookersville is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hookersville
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Muddlety
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Muddlety is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddlety
- Herold
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Herold is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herold
- Elmira
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Elmira is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sand Fork. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sand Fork.
Newspapers Published in Sand Fork ...
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 10 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sand Fork.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sand Fork, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sand Fork.
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 Sand Fork:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Clay County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Braxton County
- Calhoun County
- Fayette County
- Gilmer County
- Kanawha County
- Nicholas County
- Roane County
- Webster 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 Sand Fork, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sand Fork) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |