Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Sterling. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Sterling to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Sterling, 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 Sterling (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 Sterling. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Sterling is historic, it would have been located within present day Boone 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 Boone County: Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Raleigh & Wyoming.
Below are the counties that are near Sterling. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sterling:
- Boone County (The home county of Sterling)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Seth
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Racine
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Racine is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racine
- Eden
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Eden is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Sharlow
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Sharlow is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharlow
- Bloomingrose
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bloomingrose is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingrose
- Comfort
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Peytona
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Peytona is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peytona
- Hopkins Fork
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Hopkins Fork is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkins Fork
- Kirbyton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kirbyton is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyton
- Johns
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Johns is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johns
- Fosterville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fosterville is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosterville
- Andrew
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Andrew is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrew
- Cabell County
- Culloden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Culloden is located in Cabell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culloden
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Elkridge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Elkridge is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkridge
- Montgomery
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Powellton
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Powellton is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
- Crescent
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Crescent is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
- Kimberly
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Kimberly is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimberly
- McDunn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- McDunn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDunn
- Mount Carbon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Mount Carbon is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carbon
- Smithers
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Cannelton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Cannelton is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannelton
- Falls View
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Falls View is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls View
- Gauley Bridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Pax
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pax is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pax
- Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
- Kanawha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Winifrede
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Winifrede is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winifrede
- Chesapeake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Chesapeake is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesapeake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,393 people
- Belle
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Chelyan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Chelyan is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelyan
- Marmet
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Witcher
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Witcher is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Witcher
- Eskdale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Eskdale is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskdale
- Ronda
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Ronda is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ronda
- Cabin Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cabin Creek is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabin Creek
- Dry Branch
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
- Dupont City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dupont City is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupont City
- Acme
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Acme is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Priestley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Priestley is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priestley
- Alum Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sod
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sod is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sod
- Alkol
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Alkol is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkol
- East ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- East is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East
- Tango
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Tango is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tango
- Yawkey
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Yawkey is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yawkey
- Garretts Bend
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Garretts Bend is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garretts Bend
- Palermo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Palermo is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palermo
- Sweetland
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Sweetland is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetland
- Spears ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Spears is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spears
- Myra
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Myra is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myra
- Logan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Sodom
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sodom is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sodom
- Banco
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Banco is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banco
- Chapmanville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Big Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Big Creek is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Creek
- Mitchell Heights
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Mitchell Heights is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 274 people
- Fort Branch
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Fort Branch is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Branch
- Peach Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Peach Creek is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Creek
- Braeholm
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Braeholm is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braeholm
- West Logan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Accoville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Accoville is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Accoville
- Logan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hedgeview
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hedgeview is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedgeview
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Dixie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Dixie is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Beech Glen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Beech Glen is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Glen
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Poca
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Raymond City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Raymond City is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond City
- Morgans Landing
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Morgans Landing is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Landing
- Scott Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Scott Village is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott Village
- Teays Valley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Teays Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Teays Village is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teays Village
- Bancroft
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Bancroft is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
- Population from the 2020 Census: 596 people
- Hurricane
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Raleigh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Packsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Packsville is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packsville
- Dorothy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dorothy is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorothy
- Montcoal
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Montcoal is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcoal
- Stickney
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stickney is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stickney
- Naoma
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Naoma is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naoma
- Pineknob
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pineknob is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineknob
- Rock Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rock Creek is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Arnett
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Zada
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Zada is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zada
- Redbird
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Redbird is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbird
- Bolt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bolt is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolt
- Fairdale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fairdale is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Wyoming County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Kopperston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Kopperston is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kopperston
- Oceana
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sterling, see our County-by-County Page for Sterling.
Cemeteries Near Sterling ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sterling.
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 Sterling - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sterling covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Indian Creek Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mechanics & Miners Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Workman Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Evans Family Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Foster Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Bias Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Burnside - Byrnside Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Bowen Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Coon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Ferrell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Meadows Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Wade Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (792 more) ...
- Fauber Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Porter Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Snodgrass Famly Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 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.
While we didn't find Sterling in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sterling.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Racine
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Racine is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racine
- Comfort
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Peytona
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Peytona is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peytona
- Nelson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Nelson is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
- Foster
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Foster is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster
- Winifrede
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Winifrede is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winifrede
- Danville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Madison
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gordon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Gordon is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Winifrede Junction
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Winifrede Junction is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winifrede Junction
- Van
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Van is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van
- Dry Branch
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Shrewsbury
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Shrewsbury is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shrewsbury
- Bandytown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Bandytown is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandytown
- Jarrolds Valley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jarrolds Valley is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarrolds Valley
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sterling. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sterling.
Newspapers Published in Sterling ...
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 12 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sterling.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sterling, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sterling.
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 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 Sterling:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Boone County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cabell County
- Fayette County
- Kanawha County
- Lincoln County
- Logan County
- Nicholas County
- Putnam County
- Raleigh County
- Wyoming 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 Sterling, 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- Sterling) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |