Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Sparks. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Sparks to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Sparks, please Contact Us.
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 Sparks (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 Sparks. 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Sparks is historic, it would have been located within present day Nicholas 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 Nicholas County: Braxton, Clay, Fayette, Greenbrier, Kanawha & Webster.
Below are the counties that are near Sparks. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sparks:
- Nicholas County (The home county of Sparks)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Morrison ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Morrison is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
- Keslers Cross Lanes
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
- Summersville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Zela
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Zela is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
- Tipton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Tipton is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Runa
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Runa is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runa
- Albion ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Albion is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Snow Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Snow Hill is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Donald
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Donald is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
- Odell Town
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Odell Town is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odell Town
- Odell Town has also been known as:
- Odell
- Muddlety
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Muddlety is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddlety
- Nettie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Braxton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Strange Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Strange Creek is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strange Creek
- Herold
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Herold is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herold
- Canfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Canfield is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Rockton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Rockton is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockton
- Twistville ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Twistville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twistville
- Little Birch
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Little Birch is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Birch
- Clem
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Clem is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clem
- Frametown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Frametown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frametown
- Elmira
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Elmira is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
- Gassaway
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Sleith ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Sleith is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleith
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Mudfork
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Mudfork is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudfork
- Stinson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Stinson is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Widen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Widen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widen
- Hartland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hartland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Wattsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Wattsville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Clay
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Harrison
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Elkhurst
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Elkhurst is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
- Spread
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Spread is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
- Gould
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Ira
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Bomont
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Bomont is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bomont
- Valley Fork
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Dink
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Dink is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dink
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Clifty
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Clifty is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifty
- Elliot ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Elliot is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot
- Leander
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Leander is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
- Mulvane ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mulvane is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulvane
- Victor
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Victor is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victor
- Romont
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Romont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romont
- Lookout
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Ansted
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Grayden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Grayden is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayden
- Hawks Nest
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hawks Nest is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawks Nest
- Lansing
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fayette
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fayette is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
- Greenbrier County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Brushy Junction ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brushy Junction is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Junction
- Crichton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Crichton is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crichton
- Lile
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lile is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lile
- Quinwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Quinwood is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Orient Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Orient Hill is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orient Hill
- Charmco
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Hines
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Hines is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hines
- McRoss
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- McRoss is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRoss
- Rainelle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Rupert
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Crawley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Kieffer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kieffer is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieffer
- Kanawha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Apgah ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Apgah is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apgah
- Handley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Handley is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
- Hugheston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Hugheston is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugheston
- Hollygrove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Hollygrove is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollygrove
- Hollygrove has also been known as:
- Hollygrove Station
- Hudnall
- Pratt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Pratt is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
- Glasgow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Clendenin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Cedar Grove is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
- East Bank
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- East Bank is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bank
- Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
- Ronda
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Ronda is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ronda
- Coco
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Coco is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coco
- Dry Branch
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
- Raleigh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Royal ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Royal is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Terry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Terry is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terry
- Grandview
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Grandview is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Abraham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Abraham is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abraham
- Bradley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bradley is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Piney View
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Piney View is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney View
- Roane County
- Pigeon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pigeon is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Camden-on-Gauley
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Camden-on-Gauley is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden-on-Gauley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Welch Glade
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Welch Glade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch Glade
- Cowen
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Halo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Halo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halo
- Upperglade
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Upperglade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upperglade
- Erbacon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Erbacon is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erbacon
- Excelsior
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Excelsior is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sparks, see our County-by-County Page for Sparks.
Cemeteries Near Sparks ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sparks.
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 Sparks - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sparks covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Zoar Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Dotson - Simpson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Fowlers Knob Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Gilgal Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Catholic Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Groves Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Keenan Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- White Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Lookout Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Duling Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mt. Gilead Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (235 more) ...
- McCutchin Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hickory Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
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.
While we didn't find Sparks in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sparks.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Keslers Cross Lanes
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
- Mount Nebo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Lookout
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Mount Lookout is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Lookout
- Zela
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Zela is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
- Tipton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Tipton is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Pool
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Pool is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pool
- Gilboa
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Gilboa is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilboa
- Enon
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Enon is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enon
- Albion ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Albion is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Leander
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Leander is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
- Elliot ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Elliot is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot
- Clifty
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Clifty is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifty
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Fowler Knob
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fowler Knob is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler Knob
- Deitz ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Deitz is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deitz
- Mulvane ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mulvane is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulvane
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sparks. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sparks.
Newspapers Published in Sparks ...
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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sparks.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sparks, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sparks.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Sparks:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Nicholas County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Braxton County
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Fayette County
- Greenbrier County
- Kanawha County
- Raleigh County
- Roane County
- Webster County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for West Virginia
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Sparks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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- Sparks) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |