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 Tesla (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 Tesla. 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 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.
Tesla is located in Braxton 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 Braxton County: Calhoun, Clay, Gilmer, Lewis, Nicholas & Webster.
Below are the counties that are near Tesla. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Tesla:
- Braxton County (The home county of Tesla)
- The following are listed by their distance from Tesla, with the one closest to Tesla listed first.
- Little Birch
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Little Birch is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Birch
- Canfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Canfield is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Sutton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- McNutt
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- McNutt is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNutt
- Gassaway
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Herold
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Herold is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herold
- Twistville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Twistville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twistville
- Palmer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Palmer is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
- Flatwoods
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Frametown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Frametown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frametown
- Rockton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Rockton is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockton
- Lloydsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Lloydsville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydsville
- Corley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Corley is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tesla, with the one closest to Tesla listed first.
- Losie ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Losie is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Losie
- Mudfork
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Mudfork is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudfork
- Stinson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Stinson is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Walnut
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Walnut is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Gomez ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gomez is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gomez
- Orma
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Orma is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orma
- Oka
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Oka is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oka
- Arnoldsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Arnoldsburg is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnoldsburg
- Russet
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Russet is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russet
- Staten
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Staten is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staten
- Beech
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Beech is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech
- Grantsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pink
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pink is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pink
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tesla, with the one closest to Tesla listed first.
- Wattsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wattsville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Widen
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Widen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widen
- Harrison
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Ira
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Lydia
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Lydia is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lydia
- Dink
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Dink is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dink
- Gould
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Spread
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Spread is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
- Clay
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Valley Fork
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Hartland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hartland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Elkhurst
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Elkhurst is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
- Procious
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Procious is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Procious
- Gilmer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tesla, with the one closest to Tesla listed first.
- Cedarville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Cedarville is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Shock
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Shock is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shock
- Stouts Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Stouts Mills is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stouts Mills
- Sand Fork
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Sand Fork is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Fork
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Normantown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Truebada
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Truebada is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truebada
- Stumptown
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Stumptown is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stumptown
- Glenville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Baldwin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Baldwin is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- De Kalb
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- De Kalb is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Kalb
- Alice
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Alice is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
- Troy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Troy is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tesla, with the one closest to Tesla listed first.
- Duffy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Duffy is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffy
- Crawford
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Crawford is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Alkires Mills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Alkires Mills is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkires Mills
- Alum Bridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Alum Bridge is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alum Bridge
- Vadis
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Vadis is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vadis
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tesla, with the one closest to Tesla listed first.
- Birch River
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Tioga
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Muddlety
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Muddlety is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddlety
- Beaver
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Beaver is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Craigsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Donald
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Donald is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
- Summersville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Zela
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Zela is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
- Nettie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Odell Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Odell Town is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odell Town
- Odell Town has also been known as:
- Odell
- Richwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Saxman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Saxman is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxman
- Tolbert
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Tolbert is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolbert
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tesla, with the one closest to Tesla listed first.
- Florence ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Florence is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Pickens
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Helvetia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Roane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tesla, with the one closest to Tesla listed first.
- Pigeon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Pigeon is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
- Roxalana
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Roxalana is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxalana
- Upshur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tesla, with the one closest to Tesla listed first.
- Goshen
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Goshen is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Kanawha Head
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kanawha Head is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha Head
- Wilsontown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Wilsontown is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsontown
- Rock Cave
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Cave is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Cave
- Frenchton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Frenchton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchton
- Alexander
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Alexander is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- Hoover Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hoover Town is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover Town
- Abbott
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Abbott is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- Alton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Alton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tesla, with the one closest to Tesla listed first.
- Erbacon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Erbacon is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erbacon
- Big Run
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Big Run is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Halo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Halo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halo
- Replete
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Replete is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Replete
- Orndoff
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Orndoff is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orndoff
- Cowen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Excelsior
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Excelsior is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Welch Glade
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Welch Glade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch Glade
- Hacker Valley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Camden-on-Gauley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Camden-on-Gauley is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden-on-Gauley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Upperglade
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Upperglade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upperglade
- Cleveland
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Addison
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Addison is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Tesla, see our County-by-County Page for Tesla.
Cemeteries Near Tesla ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Tesla.
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 Tesla - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Tesla covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Tesla, with the one closest to Tesla listed first.
- Harris Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Elizabeth Chapel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Hoover Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Canfield Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Baker Ridge Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Frame Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ellison Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Morton Family Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sutton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Braxton County Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Camden Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Bealls Mill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (329 more) ...
- Middle Run Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Cutlip Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Otter Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Tesla in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Tesla.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Tesla, with the one closest to Tesla listed first.
- Little Birch
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Little Birch is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Birch
- Canfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Canfield is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Sutton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Herold
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Herold is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herold
- Bakers Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bakers Run is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakers Run
- Little Otter
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Little Otter is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Otter
- McNutt
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- McNutt is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNutt
- Twistville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Twistville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twistville
- Birch River
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Newville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Newville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
- Flatwoods
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Frametown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Frametown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frametown
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Lloydsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Lloydsville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydsville
- Strange Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Strange Creek is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strange Creek
- Boggs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Boggs is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boggs
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Tesla. See our List of 1890's Communities around Tesla.
Newspapers Published in Tesla ...
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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Tesla.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Tesla, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Tesla.
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 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 Tesla:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Braxton County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Gilmer County
- Lewis County
- Nicholas County
- Randolph County
- Roane County
- Upshur 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> | 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 Tesla, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Tesla) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |