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Home >> State of West Virginia >> Kanawha County >> Upper Falls >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Upper Falls (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 Upper Falls. 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 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 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.

Upper Falls is located in Kanawha 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 Kanawha County: Boone, Clay, Fayette, Jackson, Lincoln, Nicholas, Putnam, Raleigh & Roane.

Below are the counties that are near Upper Falls. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Upper Falls:

  • Kanawha County     (The home county of Upper Falls)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Falls, with the one closest to Upper Falls listed first.
    • Tornado
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Tornado is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tornado
    • Saint Albans
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Sattes
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Sattes is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sattes
    • Jefferson
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jefferson is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
    • Dunbar
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Rock Lake Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Rock Lake Village is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Lake Village
    • Nitro
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Nitro is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nitro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,285 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nitro <1>
    • Ruth
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Ruth is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
    • Cross Lanes
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • South Charleston
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Elk
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Elk is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk
    • Loudendale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Loudendale is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loudendale
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Falls, with the one closest to Upper Falls listed first.
    • Emmons
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Emmons is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
    • Grippe
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Grippe is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grippe
    • Horse Creek Junction
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Horse Creek Junction is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Creek Junction
    • Julian
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Julian is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Julian
    • Woodville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Woodville is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
    • Dartmont
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Dartmont is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dartmont
    • Harless
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Harless is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harless
    • Ashford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Rumble
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Rumble is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rumble
    • Dodson Junction
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Dodson Junction is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodson Junction
    • Brushton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Brushton is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushton
    • Easly
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Easly is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easly
  • Cabell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Falls, with the one closest to Upper Falls listed first.
    • Culloden
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Culloden is located in Cabell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culloden
    • Milton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Yates Crossing
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Yates Crossing is located in Cabell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates Crossing
    • Fudges Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Fudges Creek is located in Cabell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fudges Creek
    • Ona
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Salt Rock
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Sarah
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Sarah is located in Cabell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarah
    • Barboursville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Melissa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Melissa is located in Cabell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melissa
    • Pea Ridge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Pea Ridge is located in Cabell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pea Ridge
    • Wilson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Wilson is located in Cabell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
    • Crown City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Crown City is located in Cabell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown City
  • Fayette County
    • Montgomery
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Falls, with the one closest to Upper Falls listed first.
    • Romance
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Romance is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romance
    • Fletcher
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Fletcher is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
    • Kenna
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Kentuck
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Kentuck is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
    • Fairplain
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Fairplain is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplain
    • Statts Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Statts Mills is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Statts Mills
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Falls, with the one closest to Upper Falls listed first.
    • Alum Creek
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Garretts Bend
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Garretts Bend is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garretts Bend
    • Priestley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Priestley is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priestley
    • Sod
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Sod is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sod
    • Tango
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Tango is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tango
    • East ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • East is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East
    • Yawkey
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Yawkey is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yawkey
    • Sweetland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Sweetland is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetland
    • Alkol
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Alkol is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkol
    • Hamlin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Portersville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Portersville is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portersville
    • Myra
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Myra is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myra
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Falls, with the one closest to Upper Falls listed first.
    • Banco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Banco is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banco
    • Big Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Big Creek is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Creek
    • Chapmanville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Sodom
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Sodom is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sodom
    • Mitchell Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Mitchell Heights is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 274 people
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Falls, with the one closest to Upper Falls listed first.
    • Upland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Upland is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upland
    • Grimms Landing
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Grimms Landing is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grimms Landing
    • Arbuckle
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Arbuckle is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbuckle
    • Southside
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Southside is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southside
    • Leon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Leon is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
    • Apple Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Apple Grove is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
    • Arlee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Arlee is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlee
    • Fivemile
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Fivemile is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fivemile
    • Hogsett
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Hogsett is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hogsett
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Falls, with the one closest to Upper Falls listed first.
    • Scott Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Scott Village is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott Village
    • Teays Valley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Teays Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Teays Village is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teays Village
    • Morgans Landing
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Morgans Landing is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Landing
    • Poca
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Raymond City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Raymond City is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond City
    • Bancroft
      (11 miles [17.7 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
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Winfield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Eleanor
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Red House
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Midway
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Midway is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
  • Roane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Falls, with the one closest to Upper Falls listed first.
    • Cicerone
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Cicerone is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cicerone
    • Mattie ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Mattie is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattie
    • Woodyard ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Woodyard is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodyard
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Falls, with the one closest to Upper Falls listed first.
    • Nestlow
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Nestlow is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nestlow
    • Cove Gap
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Cove Gap is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Gap
  • Gallia County (OH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Falls, with the one closest to Upper Falls listed first.
    • Bladen
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Bladen is located in Gallia County (OH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bladen
    • Crown City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Crown City is located in Gallia County (OH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 399 people
    • Eureka
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Eureka is located in Gallia County (OH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
  • Lawrence County (OH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Falls, with the one closest to Upper Falls listed first.
    • Athalia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Athalia is located in Lawrence County (OH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athalia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
    • Proctorville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Upper Falls, see our County-by-County Page for Upper Falls.

Cemeteries Near Upper Falls ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Upper Falls.

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 Upper Falls - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Upper Falls covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Upper Falls, with the one closest to Upper Falls listed first.

  • Henley Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Templeton Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Sutherland - White Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Bryant Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Dunlap Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Cunningham Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • College Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Teays Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Bays Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Bangor Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Hazlette Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Forks of Coal Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Coal Memorial Park
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Forks of Coal Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located in Alum Creek.
    • The Forks of Coal Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Forks of Coal Cemetery
    • Forks of Coal Community Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #78395 <2>
  • Continue List   (881 more) ...

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 Upper Falls in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Upper Falls.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Upper Falls, with the one closest to Upper Falls listed first.

  • Tornado
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Tornado is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tornado
  • Saint Albans
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Sattes
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Sattes is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sattes
  • Garretts Bend
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Garretts Bend is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garretts Bend
  • Spring Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Scary
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Scary is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scary
  • Davis Creek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Davis Creek is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Creek
  • Mound ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Mound is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound
  • Poca
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Raymond City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Raymond City is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond City
  • Teays
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Griffithsville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Griffithsville is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffithsville
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Rocky Fork
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Rocky Fork is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Fork
    • Nye
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Nye is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nye
    • Plymouth
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Plymouth is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Upper Falls. See our List of 1890's Communities around Upper Falls.

Newspapers Published in Upper Falls ...

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 94 newspapers that have been published in the area around Upper Falls.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Upper Falls, 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 Upper Falls.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Upper Falls:

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 Upper Falls, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Upper Falls) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.