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 Thayer (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 Thayer. 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.
Thayer is located in Fayette 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 Fayette County: Greenbrier, Kanawha, Nicholas, Raleigh & Summers.
Below are the counties that are near Thayer. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Thayer:
- Fayette County (The home county of Thayer)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thayer, with the one closest to Thayer listed first.
- Alaska ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Alaska is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
- McKendree
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- McKendree is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
- Sewell Knob ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sewell Knob is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewell Knob
- Sewell Knob has also been known as:
- Swell Knob
- Stonecliff ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Stonecliff is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonecliff
- Stonecliff has also been known as:
- Stone Cliff
- Quinnimont
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Quinnimont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinnimont
- Prince
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Newlyn ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Newlyn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlyn
- Rush Run ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rush Run is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush Run
- Thurmond
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- East Sewell ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- East Sewell is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sewell
- Concho
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Concho is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concho
- Harvey
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Harvey is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
- Redstar
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Redstar is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstar
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thayer, with the one closest to Thayer listed first.
- Whitesville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- 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>
- Elk Run Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Elk Run Junction is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Run Junction
- Janie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Janie is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janie
- Former name for Janie:
- Mordue
- Sylvester
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Greenbrier County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thayer, with the one closest to Thayer listed first.
- Rainelle
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- McRoss
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- McRoss is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRoss
- Vale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Vale is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Charmco
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hines
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hines is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hines
- Orient Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Orient Hill is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orient Hill
- Rupert
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Crawley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Crichton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Crichton is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crichton
- Quinwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Quinwood is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Kieffer
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Kieffer is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieffer
- Brushy Junction ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Brushy Junction is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Junction
- Alderson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Kanawha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thayer, with the one closest to Thayer listed first.
- Carbon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Carbon is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Acme
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Acme is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Eskdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Eskdale is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskdale
- Handley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Handley is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
- Hollygrove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hollygrove is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollygrove
- Hollygrove has also been known as:
- Hollygrove Station
- Hudnall
- Hugheston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hugheston is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugheston
- Pratt
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pratt is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
- Ronda
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ronda is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ronda
- Dry Branch
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
- Glasgow
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thayer, with the one closest to Thayer listed first.
- Creamery
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Creamery is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Wolfcreek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Wolfcreek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfcreek
- Wayside
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wayside is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thayer, with the one closest to Thayer listed first.
- Runa
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Runa is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runa
- Albion ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Albion is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Snow Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Snow Hill is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Beech Glen
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Beech Glen is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Glen
- Keslers Cross Lanes
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
- Morrison ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Morrison is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
- Carl
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Carl is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
- Peaser Junction ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Peaser Junction is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaser Junction
- Tipton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Tipton is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Dixie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Dixie is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Zela
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Zela is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
- Odell Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Odell Town is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odell Town
- Odell Town has also been known as:
- Odell
- Summersville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Raleigh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thayer, with the one closest to Thayer listed first.
- Royal ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Royal is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Terry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Terry is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terry
- Grandview
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Grandview is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Piney View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Piney View is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney View
- Abraham
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Abraham is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abraham
- Stanaford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Stanaford is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanaford
- White Stick
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- White Stick is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Stick
- Bradley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bradley is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Clifftop
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Clifftop is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifftop
- Prosperity
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Prosperity is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosperity
- Skelton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Skelton is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skelton
- Sprague
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sprague is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprague
- Beaver
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Summers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thayer, with the one closest to Thayer listed first.
- New Richmond ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- New Richmond is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
- Sandstone
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jumping Branch
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
- Nimitz
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Nimitz is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimitz
- Brooklin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Brooklin is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
- Hinton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bellepoint
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bellepoint is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellepoint
- Packs Ferry
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Packs Ferry is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry
- True
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- True is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True
- Hilldale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hilldale is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
- Talcott
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Buck
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Buck is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
- Lowell
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Lowell is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Wyoming County
- Mullens
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Thayer, see our County-by-County Page for Thayer.
Cemeteries Near Thayer ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thayer.
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 Thayer - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Thayer covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Thayer, with the one closest to Thayer listed first.
- Royal Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Layland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Layland Cemetery
- The Layland Cemetery has also been known as:
- Chestnut Knob Church Cemetery
- Beechnut Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechnut Cemetery
- The Beechnut Cemetery has also been known as:
- Charles Harrah Cemetery
- Harrah Cemetery
- Jim Harrah Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2608668 <2>
- Anderson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Goddard Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- William Kidwell Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for William Kidwell Cemetery
- The William Kidwell Cemetery has also been known as:
- Kidwell Cemetery
- New Salem Baptist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Smailes Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hilltop Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Goodson Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Shuck Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- High Lawn Memorial Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (284 more) ...
- Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Plumley Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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 Thayer in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Thayer.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Thayer, with the one closest to Thayer listed first.
- McKendree
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- McKendree is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
- Alaska ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Alaska is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
- Claremont
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Claremont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
- Stonecliff ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Stonecliff is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonecliff
- Stonecliff has also been known as:
- Stone Cliff
- Prince
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Quinnimont
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Quinnimont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinnimont
- Fire Creek ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Fire Creek is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fire Creek
- Rush Run ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rush Run is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush Run
- Dimmock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dimmock is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dimmock
- Thurmond
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Beury
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Beury is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beury
- Grandview
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Grandview is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Glade
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Glade is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade
- East Sewell ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- East Sewell is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sewell
- Crickmer
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Crickmer is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crickmer
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Thayer. See our List of 1890's Communities around Thayer.
Newspapers Published in Thayer ...
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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thayer.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Thayer, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Thayer.
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 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 Thayer:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Fayette County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Boone County
- Greenbrier County
- Kanawha County
- Monroe County
- Nicholas County
- Raleigh County
- Summers County
- Wyoming 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 Thayer, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Thayer) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |