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 Sophia (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 Sophia. 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.
Sophia 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 Sophia. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sophia:
- Raleigh County (The home county of Sophia)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sophia, with the one closest to Sophia listed first.
- Crab Orchard
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pemberton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pemberton is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
- Glen White
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Glen White is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen White
- Stotesbury
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Stotesbury is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stotesbury
- Sullivan
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Sullivan is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
- Lester
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lester is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 312 people
- Coal City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Coal City is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Princewick
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Princewick is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princewick
- Tilden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Tilden is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilden
- Mabscott
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mabscott is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabscott
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,251 people
- MacArthur
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tolleys
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Tolleys is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolleys
- Slab Fork
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Slab Fork is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab Fork
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sophia, with the one closest to Sophia listed first.
- Rocklick
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rocklick is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocklick
- Bald Knob
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Bald Knob is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Knob
- Greenwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Greenwood is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Lindytown ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Lindytown is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindytown
- Whitesville
(23 miles [37 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
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Janie is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janie
- Former name for Janie:
- Mordue
- Barrett
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Barrett is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrett
- Elk Run Junction
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Elk Run Junction is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Run Junction
- Twilight
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Twilight is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilight
- Bandytown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bandytown is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandytown
- Pondco
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pondco is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pondco
- Sylvester
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bim
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bim is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bim
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sophia, with the one closest to Sophia listed first.
- Kilsyth
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Kilsyth is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilsyth
- Mount Hope
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Pax
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Pax is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pax
- Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
- Prince
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Roseville ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Roseville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
- White Oak Junction
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- White Oak Junction is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak Junction
- Quinnimont
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Quinnimont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinnimont
- Harvey
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Harvey is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
- Redstar
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Redstar is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstar
- McKendree
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- McKendree is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
- Alaska ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Alaska is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
- Newlyn ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Newlyn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlyn
- Sewell Knob ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Sewell Knob is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewell Knob
- Sewell Knob has also been known as:
- Swell Knob
- Kanawha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sophia, with the one closest to Sophia listed first.
- Carbon
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Carbon is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Acme
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Acme is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Eskdale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Eskdale is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskdale
- McDowell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sophia, with the one closest to Sophia listed first.
- Northfork
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Keystone
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kyle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kyle is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
- Elkhorn
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Elkhorn is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
- Kimball
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Big Four
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Big Four is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Four
- Davy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Davy is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 324 people
- Welch
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Anawalt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Anawalt is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
- Thorpe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Thorpe is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorpe
- Gary
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gary is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
- Big Sandy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Big Sandy is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Sandy
- Roderfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Roderfield is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roderfield
- Mercer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sophia, with the one closest to Sophia listed first.
- Lashmeet
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Lashmeet is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lashmeet
- Matoaka
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Matoaka is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
- Weyanoke
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Weyanoke is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyanoke
- Athens
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Coaldale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Coaldale is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Flipping
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Flipping is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
- Johnston Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Johnston Town is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnston Town
- Montcalm
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Montcalm is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcalm
- Princeton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Bramwell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Coopers
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Coopers is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
- Freeman
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Freeman is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Monroe County
- Ballard
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ballard is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
- Summers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sophia, with the one closest to Sophia listed first.
- Jumping Branch
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
- Nimitz
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Nimitz is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimitz
- Brooklin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Brooklin is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
- Pipestem
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- True
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- True is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True
- Bellepoint
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Bellepoint is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellepoint
- Hinton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- New Richmond ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- New Richmond is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
- Packs Ferry
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Packs Ferry is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry
- Sandstone
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Buck
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Buck is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
- Hilldale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hilldale is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
- Mercers Saltworks ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mercers Saltworks is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercers Saltworks
- Wyoming County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sophia, with the one closest to Sophia listed first.
- Mullens
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bud
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bud is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
- Keyrock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Keyrock is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyrock
- Rock View
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Rock View is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock View
- Pineville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kopperston
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Kopperston is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kopperston
- Mullensville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Mullensville is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullensville
- Turkey
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Turkey is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey
- Wyoming
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wyoming is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
- Oceana
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Fanny
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fanny is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanny
- Woosley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Woosley is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woosley
- Stoneville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Stoneville is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneville
- Tazewell County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sophia, with the one closest to Sophia listed first.
- Pocahontas
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
- Yards
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Yards is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Falls Mills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Boissevain
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Boissevain is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boissevain
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sophia, see our County-by-County Page for Sophia.
Cemeteries Near Sophia ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sophia.
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 Sophia - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sophia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sophia, with the one closest to Sophia listed first.
- Cannaday Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Pemberton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Slab Fork Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Miller Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Aliff Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- St. Sebastians Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Snuffer Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Greenwood Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wright Hunter Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wildwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sunset Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (419 more) ...
- Davis Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mt. Tabor Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mt. TaborCemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
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 Sophia in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sophia.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sophia, with the one closest to Sophia listed first.
- Pemberton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pemberton is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
- Lester
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lester is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 312 people
- Daniels
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Odd
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Odd is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odd
- Shady Spring
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Matville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Matville is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matville
- Prosperity
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Prosperity is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosperity
- Crow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Crow is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow
- McGraws
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- McGraws is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGraws
- Saulsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Saulsville is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saulsville
- Egeria
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Egeria is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egeria
- Flat Top
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Redbird
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Redbird is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbird
- Grandview
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Grandview is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Cirtsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Cirtsville is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cirtsville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sophia. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sophia.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Sophia ...
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 Sophia.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Sophia. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Sophia and those printed in the larger area surrounding Sophia.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4> of Sophia.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Sophia:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Raleigh County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Boone County
- Fayette County
- Kanawha County
- McDowell County
- Mercer County
- Monroe County
- Summers County
- Wyoming County
- Tazewell 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 Sophia, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sophia) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |