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 Wanless (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 Wanless. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.
Wanless is located in Pocahontas 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 Pocahontas County: Bath (VA), Highland (VA), Greenbrier, Pendleton, Randolph & Webster.
Below are the counties that are near Wanless. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wanless:
- Pocahontas County (The home county of Wanless)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wanless, with the one closest to Wanless listed first.
- Cass
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Arbovale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Green Bank
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Sitlington
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Sitlington is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitlington
- Durbin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Frank
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Frank is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frank
- Frost
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Frost is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
- Slaty Fork
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Thornwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Thornwood is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornwood
- Thorny Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Thorny Creek is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorny Creek
- Edray
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Edray is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edray
- Onoto
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Onoto is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onoto
- Marlinton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pendleton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wanless, with the one closest to Wanless listed first.
- Dry Run
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Dry Run is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Run
- Harper
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Harper is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Circleville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Moyers
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Moyers is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moyers
- Zigler
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Zigler is located in Pendleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zigler
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wanless, with the one closest to Wanless listed first.
- Mingo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Valley Head
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Blue Spring
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Blue Spring is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Spring
- Monterville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Elkwater
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Elkwater is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkwater
- Lee Bell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Lee Bell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Bell
- Huttonsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Mill Creek
(20 miles [32.2 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
- Florence ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Florence is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Pickens
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Huff ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Huff is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huff
- Helvetia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Beverly
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Upshur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wanless, with the one closest to Wanless listed first.
- Goshen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Goshen is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Alexander
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Alexander is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wanless, with the one closest to Wanless listed first.
- Ralph
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Ralph is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ralph
- Addison
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Addison is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
- Orndoff
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Orndoff is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orndoff
- Hacker Valley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Excelsior
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Excelsior is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Bath County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wanless, with the one closest to Wanless listed first.
- Bolar
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bolar is located in Bath County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolar
- Burnsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Burnsville is located in Bath County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnsville
- Mountain Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Mountain Grove is located in Bath County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Grove
- Fort Lewis ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Lewis is located in Bath County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lewis
- Cowardin ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Cowardin is located in Bath County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowardin
- Warm Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Bath Alum
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Bath Alum is located in Bath County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath Alum
- Mitchelltown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Mitchelltown is located in Bath County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchelltown
- Highland County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wanless, with the one closest to Wanless listed first.
- Meadowdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Meadowdale is located in Highland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowdale
- Buckeye ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Buckeye is located in Highland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
- Hightown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Hightown is located in Highland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightown
- Monterey
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Possum Trot
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Possum Trot is located in Highland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possum Trot
- Clover Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Clover Creek is located in Highland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Creek
- McDowell
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Palo Alto
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Palo Alto is located in Highland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palo Alto
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wanless, see our County-by-County Page for Wanless.
Cemeteries Near Wanless ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wanless.
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 Wanless - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wanless covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wanless, with the one closest to Wanless listed first.
- Wanless Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Hilltop Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Arbovale Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Baxter Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Buzzard Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Buzzard Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dilly Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Moore Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Lindsay Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Bussard Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Shinaberry Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Continue List (71 more) ...
- Ware Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Varner Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Gragg Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
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 Wanless in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wanless.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wanless, with the one closest to Wanless listed first.
- Green Bank
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Dunmore
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Clover Lick
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Clover Lick is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Lick
- Valley Head
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Frost
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Frost is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
- Dilleys Mill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Dilleys Mill is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilleys Mill
- Buckeye ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Buckeye is located in Highland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
- Mill Gap
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mill Gap is located in Highland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Gap
- Meadowdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Meadowdale is located in Highland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowdale
- Monterville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Blue Spring
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Blue Spring is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Spring
- Elkwater
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Elkwater is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkwater
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Hightown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Hightown is located in Highland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightown
- Edray
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Edray is located in Pocahontas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edray
- Vanderpool
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Vanderpool is located in Highland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanderpool
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wanless. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wanless.
Newspapers Published in Wanless ...
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 14 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wanless.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wanless, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wanless.
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 Wanless:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Pocahontas County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Pendleton County
- Randolph County
- Upshur County
- Webster County
- Bath County
- Highland 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 Wanless, 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- Wanless) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |