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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 Mingo (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 Mingo. 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 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.

Upper Mingo is located in Randolph 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 Randolph County: Barbour, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Tucker, Upshur & Webster.

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

  • Randolph County     (The home county of Upper Mingo)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Mingo, with the one closest to Upper Mingo listed first.
    • Mingo
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Valley Head
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Blue Spring
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Blue Spring is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Spring
    • Monterville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Elkwater
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Elkwater is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkwater
    • Lee Bell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Lee Bell is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Bell
    • Florence ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Florence is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
    • Pickens
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Huttonsville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Helvetia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mill Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Mill Creek is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 681 people
    • Huff ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Huff is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huff
    • Cassity
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Cassity is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassity
  • Braxton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Mingo, with the one closest to Upper Mingo listed first.
    • Milroy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Milroy is located in Braxton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milroy
    • Palmer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Palmer is located in Braxton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
  • Lewis County
    • Duffy
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Duffy is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffy
  • Pendleton County
    • Dry Run
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Dry Run is located in Pendleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Run
  • Pocahontas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Mingo, with the one closest to Upper Mingo listed first.
    • Slaty Fork
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Cass
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Sitlington
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Sitlington is located in Pocahontas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitlington
    • Durbin
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Arbovale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Frank
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Frank is located in Pocahontas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frank
    • Green Bank
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Edray
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Edray is located in Pocahontas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edray
    • Onoto
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Onoto is located in Pocahontas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onoto
    • Thorny Creek
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Thorny Creek is located in Pocahontas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorny Creek
    • Thornwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Thornwood is located in Pocahontas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornwood
    • Marlinton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Frost
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Frost is located in Pocahontas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
  • Upshur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Mingo, with the one closest to Upper Mingo listed first.
    • Goshen
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Goshen is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
    • Alexander
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Alexander is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
    • Alton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Alton is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
    • Beans Mill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Beans Mill is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Mill
    • Kanawha Head
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Kanawha Head is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha Head
    • Queens
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Queens is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queens
    • Sellers ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Sellers is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
    • Tenmile
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Tenmile is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
    • Wilsontown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Wilsontown is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsontown
    • Rock Cave
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Rock Cave is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Cave
    • Sand Run
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Sand Run is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Run
    • Tallmansville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Hoover Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Hoover Town is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover Town
  • Webster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Mingo, with the one closest to Upper Mingo listed first.
    • Ralph
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Ralph is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ralph
    • Addison
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Addison is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
    • Hacker Valley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Orndoff
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Orndoff is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orndoff
    • Excelsior
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Excelsior is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
    • Big Run
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Big Run is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
    • Cleveland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Upperglade
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Upperglade is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upperglade
    • Replete
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Replete is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Replete
    • Halo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Halo is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halo
    • Cowen
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Erbacon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Erbacon is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erbacon
    • Welch Glade
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Welch Glade is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch Glade
  • Bath County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Mingo, with the one closest to Upper Mingo listed first.
    • Mountain Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Mountain Grove is located in Bath County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Grove
    • Bolar
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bolar is located in Bath County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolar
  • Highland County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Upper Mingo, with the one closest to Upper Mingo listed first.
    • Meadowdale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Meadowdale is located in Highland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowdale
    • Buckeye ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Buckeye is located in Highland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
    • Hightown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Hightown is located in Highland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightown
    • Monterey
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Possum Trot
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Possum Trot is located in Highland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possum Trot

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

Cemeteries Near Upper Mingo ...

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

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 Mingo - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Ware Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Varner Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Stainaker Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Simmons Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Cowger Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Hilltop Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Hannah Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Gibson Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Wanless Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Ft. Milroy Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Meadowland Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (100 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 Mingo in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Upper Mingo.

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

  • Valley Head
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Blue Spring
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Blue Spring is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Spring
  • Monterville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Elkwater
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Elkwater is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkwater
  • Clover Lick
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Clover Lick is located in Pocahontas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Lick
  • Dunmore
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Green Bank
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Lee Bell
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Lee Bell is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Bell
  • Pickens
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Florence ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Florence is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
  • Bergoo
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Bergoo is located in Webster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bergoo
  • Woodzell
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Woodzell is located in Webster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodzell
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Edray
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Edray is located in Pocahontas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edray
    • Huttonsville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Bernardstown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Bernardstown is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernardstown

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

Newspapers Published in Upper Mingo ...

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 8 newspapers that have been published in the area around Upper Mingo.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Upper Mingo, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Upper Mingo.

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 Upper Mingo:

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 Mingo, 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' (or 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 Mingo) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.