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 Willis Branch (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 Willis Branch. 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.
Name Variations for Willis Branch ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Willis Branch: Willis Br. (or less commonly used: Willis Brnch.)
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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.
Willis Branch 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 Willis Branch. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Willis Branch:
- Fayette County (The home county of Willis Branch)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis Branch, with the one closest to Willis Branch listed first.
- Pax
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Pax is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pax
- Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
- Roseville ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Roseville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
- Kilsyth
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Kilsyth is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilsyth
- Mount Hope
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- White Oak Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- White Oak Junction is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak Junction
- Redstar
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Redstar is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstar
- Harvey
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Harvey is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
- Whipple
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Whipple is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whipple
- Wriston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Wriston is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wriston
- Oak Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- McKendree
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- McKendree is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
- Newlyn ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Newlyn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlyn
- Concho
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Concho is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concho
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis Branch, with the one closest to Willis Branch listed first.
- Whitesville
(15 miles [24.1 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
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Elk Run Junction is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Run Junction
- Janie
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Janie is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janie
- Former name for Janie:
- Mordue
- Sylvester
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lindytown ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Lindytown is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindytown
- Keith
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Keith is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keith
- Twilight
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Twilight is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilight
- Orgas
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Orgas is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orgas
- Bald Knob
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Bald Knob is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Knob
- Bandytown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Bandytown is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandytown
- Greenwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Greenwood is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Rocklick
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Rocklick is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocklick
- Barrett
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Barrett is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrett
- Greenbrier County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis Branch, with the one closest to Willis Branch listed first.
- Rainelle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- McRoss
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- McRoss is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRoss
- Charmco
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Hines
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Hines is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hines
- Vale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Vale is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Orient Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Orient Hill is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orient Hill
- Kanawha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis Branch, with the one closest to Willis Branch listed first.
- Carbon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Carbon is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Acme
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Acme is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Eskdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Eskdale is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskdale
- Handley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Handley is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
- Hollygrove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Hollygrove is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollygrove
- Hollygrove has also been known as:
- Hollygrove Station
- Hudnall
- Ronda
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ronda is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ronda
- Hugheston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Hugheston is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugheston
- Pratt
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Pratt is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
- Dry Branch
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
- Glasgow
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Cabin Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Cabin Creek is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabin Creek
- Cedar Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Grove is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
- Chelyan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Chelyan is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelyan
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis Branch, with the one closest to Willis Branch listed first.
- Beech Glen
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Beech Glen is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Glen
- Dixie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Dixie is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Albion ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Albion is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Runa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Runa is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runa
- Keslers Cross Lanes
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
- Tipton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tipton is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Morrison ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Morrison is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
- Raleigh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis Branch, with the one closest to Willis Branch listed first.
- Sweeneyburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sweeneyburg is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweeneyburg
- Bradley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bradley is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Prosperity
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Prosperity is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosperity
- Harper
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Skelton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Skelton is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skelton
- Mabscott
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Mabscott is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabscott
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,251 people
- Old Mill Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Old Mill Village is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Mill Village
- Wickham
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Wickham is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickham
- Beckley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Piney View
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Piney View is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney View
- Sprague
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Sprague is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprague
- Stanaford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Stanaford is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanaford
- White Stick
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- White Stick is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Stick
- Summers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis Branch, with the one closest to Willis Branch listed first.
- New Richmond ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- New Richmond is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
- Sandstone
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Jumping Branch
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
- Nimitz
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Nimitz is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimitz
- Brooklin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Brooklin is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
- Hinton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bellepoint
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bellepoint is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellepoint
- Packs Ferry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Packs Ferry is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry
- True
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- True is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True
- Pipestem
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wyoming County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis Branch, with the one closest to Willis Branch listed first.
- Kopperston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Kopperston is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kopperston
- Mullens
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Keyrock
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Keyrock is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyrock
- Oceana
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Rock View
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Rock View is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock View
- Turkey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Turkey is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey
- Bud
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Bud is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
- Pineville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mullensville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mullensville is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullensville
- Wyoming
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wyoming is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
- Clear Fork
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Clear Fork is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Fork
- Baileysville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Baileysville is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileysville
- Fanny
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fanny is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanny
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Willis Branch, see our County-by-County Page for Willis Branch.
Cemeteries Near Willis Branch ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Willis Branch.
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 Willis Branch - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Willis Branch covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Willis Branch, with the one closest to Willis Branch listed first.
- Maynor Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- William Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Williams Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Tyree Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Pax Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Maynor Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Thompson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Sutphin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Lafferty Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Shepard Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Lively Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Biggs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Continue List (346 more) ...
- Davis Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Cottle Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Wright Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
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 Willis Branch in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Willis Branch.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Willis Branch, with the one closest to Willis Branch listed first.
- Cirtsville
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Cirtsville is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cirtsville
- Roseville ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Roseville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
- Clear Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Clear Creek is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Creek
- Mossy
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mossy is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mossy
- Matville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Matville is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matville
- Prosperity
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Prosperity is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosperity
- Mount Hope
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Oak Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- McKendree
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- McKendree is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
- Thurmond
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Kincaid
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Kincaid is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kincaid
- Dry Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Dry Creek is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Creek
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Lester
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Lester is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 312 people
- Grandview
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Grandview is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Prince
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Willis Branch. See our List of 1890's Communities around Willis Branch.
Newspapers Published in Willis Branch ...
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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Willis Branch.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Willis Branch, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Willis Branch.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Willis Branch:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Fayette County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Boone County
- Greenbrier County
- Kanawha 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 Willis Branch, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Willis Branch) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |