An Introduction

Gen-Tool Kit

Researching

 by Surname

Researching

by Location

Internet Resources

Contact Information

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General Description

     West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland to the northeast. The capital and largest city is Charleston.

    West Virginia became a state following the Wheeling Conventions, breaking away from Virginia during the American Civil War. The new state was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863, and was a key Civil War border state. West Virginia was the only state to form by seceding from a Confederate state, and was one of only two states formed during the American Civil War (the other one being Nevada, which separated from Utah Territory).

The Census Bureau considers West Virginia part of the South, as most of the state is south of the Mason-Dixon Line. The northern panhandle, however, extends adjacent to Pennsylvania and Ohio with the West Virginia cities of Wheeling and Weirton being just across the border from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, while Bluefield is less than seventy miles from North Carolina and Harper's Ferry is considered to be a part of the Washington metropolitan area. The unique position of West Virginia means that it is often included in a wide variety of geographical regions, including the Upland South, the Southeastern United States, and even the Northeastern United States. Notably, it is the only state which entirely lies within the area served by the Appalachian Regional Commission, which is a common definition of "Appalachia".

Historical Information

History of West Virginia;   Prehistory of West Virginia.;   Vandalia (colony) and Westsylvania;   West Virginia in the American Civil War  

gen tool

GENEALOGICAL ARCHIVES & LIBRARIES

·        West Virginia Archives and History, The Cultural Center; 1900 Kanawha Boulevard, E.; Charleston, WV 25305-0300. Read here before requesting research

·        West Virginia and Regional History Collection, West Virginia University, Colson Hall, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506; (304) 293-3536

·        Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston Catholic Archives, West Virginia Catholic Heritage Center, Suite 201, 2000 Main Street, Wheeling, WV 26003

·        Methodist Historical Society/Archives and History Commission, c/o Methodist Archives, Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library, West Virginia Wesleyan College, 59 College Avenue, Buckhannon, WV 26101

HISTORICAL & GENEALOGICAL SOCIETIES 

·         West Virginia Genealogical Society, Post Office Box 249, Elkview, West Virginia 25071

·        West Virginia Historical Society, PO Box 5220, Charleston, WV  25361

• Methodist Historical Society, Inc., c/o Methodist Archives, Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library, West Virginia Wesleyan College, 59 College Avenue, Buckhannon, WV 26101

STATE LIBRARY

West Virginia Library Commission

1900 Kanawha Blvd. E., Bldg. 9, Culture Center, Charleston, WV 25305

Phone:  (304) 558-2041, In-State Toll Free:  (800) 642-9021, Fax:  (304) 558-2044

[email protected]

Staff Directory

HISTORICAL PLACES

(select a county)

Barbour Berkeley Boone Braxton Brooke Cabell Calhoun Clay Doddridge Fayette Gilmer Grant Greenbrier Hampshire Hancock Hardy Harrison Jackson Jefferson Kanawha Lewis Lincoln Logan Marion Marshall Mason McDowell Mercer Mineral Mingo Monongalia Monroe Morgan Nicholas Ohio Pendleton Pleasants Pocahontas Preston Putnam Raleigh Randolph Ritchie Roane Summers Taylor Tucker Tyler Upshur Wayne Webster Wetzel Wirt Wood Wyoming

Surname

The following are surnames of persons, found within our databases,

as having been either born, married or died in this U.S. State.

McVicker; Moreland; Pinnell; Scruggs and allied families

Chandler;  Eades;   Howell;   Johnson;   Ogden;   Ross;   Scruggs

Bozarth; Peiffer; Quigley; Rhubart and allied families

Dellinger; Knecht; Pfeffer; Silar and allied families

To find out more about each surname listed above click on the corresponding LINK.

Additional information regarding these surnames may also be found at:

  Surname Locator Resources

Free Genealogy Surname

Search Help from Google

Use this free genealogy site to help you get the best genealogy searches from Google™ by using your family tree, for your research. It will create a series of different searches using tips or   "tricks"  

that    will   likely   improve your results. The different searches will give you many different ways of using Google and the Internet to find ancestry information about this or any other Surname.

research location

Our Ancestral Counties

Gazetteer of Places

County Research (Genealogical)

County Research (General Info.)

Where in the World are My Ancestors?

Our Ancestral Counties

The following named counties are associated with the history of our DIRECT ancestors.   To select a specific ancestral county, go to our Ancestral Locations home page. Here you will find additional links to our county pages where you can obtain information about our family gen-sites, images of localities, and surnames of persons, in our database, who have lived in the selected county.

Click on this thumbnail map for a full-sized version.

Berkeley

Gazetteer

of Places

The following Links will take you to gazetteers that identify places within this U.S. State.  These resources feature profiles of cities, towns, neighborhoods and subdivisions.  In addition this site contains maps, data and directions for a wide variety of physical, cultural and historic features.

List of counties in West Virginia 

 List of West Virginia county seats

List of census-designated places in WV

List of cities in West Virginia,

 List of towns in West Virginia,

 List of villages in West Virginia,

West Virginia Cities - profiles of 3,902 West Virginia cities, towns & neighborhoods

West Virginia Physical Features such as lakes, islands & steams

West Virginia Cultural Features such as schools, parks, hospitals & airports

West Virginia Civil Features such as Native Areas and Political Subdivisions

Search by Name, County, ZIP Code or Area Code

County Research

(Genealogical)

Clicking on a Link (below) will take you to the County’s website.  Here you will find additional links to more information specific to that location.    The USGenWeb Project also sponsors important Special Projects, at the national level, that were created to collect and disseminate data that goes beyond county and state lines.

Barbour

Berkeley

Boone

Braxton

Brooke

Cabell

Calhoun

Clay

Doddridge

Fayette

Gilmer

Grant

Greenbrier

Hampshire

Hancock

Hardy

Harrison

Jackson

Jefferson

Kanawha

Lewis

Lincoln

Logan

Marion

Marshall

Mason

McDowell

Mercer

Mineral

Mingo

Monongalia

Monroe

Morgan

Nicholas

Ohio

Pendleton

Pleasants

Pocahontas

Preston

Putnam

Raleigh

Randolph

Ritchie

Roane

Summers

Taylor

Tucker

Tyler

Upshur

Wayne

Webster

Wetzel

Wirt

Wood

Wyoming

County Research

(General)

Wikipedia is a multilingual, Web-based, free-content encyclopedia project based mostly on anonymous contributions. Clicking on a Link (below) will take you to the Wikipedia article about the county.  Here you will find additional links to guide the user to related pages with additional information.

Barbour  · Berkeley  · Boone  · Braxton  · Brooke  · Cabell  · Calhoun  · Clay  · Doddridge  · Fayette  · Gilmer  · Grant  · Greenbrier  · Hampshire  · Hancock  · Hardy  · Harrison  · Jackson  · Jefferson  · Kanawha  · Lewis  · Lincoln  · Logan  · Marion  · Marshall  · Mason  · McDowell  · Mercer  · Mineral  · Mingo  · Monongalia  · Monroe  · Morgan  · Nicholas  · Ohio  · Pendleton  · Pleasants  · Pocahontas  · Preston  · Putnam  · Raleigh  · Randolph  · Ritchie  · Roane  · Summers  · Taylor  · Tucker  · Tyler  · Upshur  · Wayne  · Webster  · Wetzel  · Wirt  · Wood  · Wyoming

Where in the World

are My Ancestors?

Resources which enhance our knowledge of the places inhabited by our ancestors are almost as important as their names. The LINK

to the right will take you to Maps, Gazetteers,   and other helpful  resources  that will assist you in discovering Ancestral Locations.  

The Google search engine

 button  and following web

sites    may     provide    you

with additional information

to assist with your research

about   this   U. S.   State. 

GENERAL RESOURCES

·           Website & Webpages We Like

·           Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

·           Free Genealogy Search Help For Google

·           Linkpendium > Genealogy > USA

·           Genealogy Gateway

·           Ancestry.com (Reference Materials & Finding Aids)

·           Ancestry.com - Maps, Atlases & Gazetteers

·           GenealogyLinks.net

·        Cyndi's List - United States Index

·        IGI Batch Numbers - British Isles & North America

·        Libweb - Libraries on the Web

·        50states.com - States and Capitals

·        RootsWeb Town Search 1.0

·        USA Resources at RootsWeb

·        StateGenSites - U.S. Genealogy Sites by State

·        The USGenWeb Project

LOCATION SPECIFIC RESOURCES

·West Virginia - Wikipedia

·West Virginia State Facts and Information

·West Virginia Information (50 States.com)

·Linkpendium – West Virginia

·Cyndi’s List (West Virginia)

·West Virginia (historical societies)

·West Virginia Resources at RootsWeb

·Family Search (IGI Records for West Virginia)

OUR GENEALOGY REFERENCE LIBRARY

The following Link will take you to our library of genealogy reference books that pertain to this U.S. State.   Here you will find books about the history and records of this State, as well as its counties and other localities such as towns and churches.   The collection also contains research works about State military units and personnel during America’s wars.  In addition, there are resource texts about the ethnic and religious groups who settled in this State.

U.S.A. Locations Library - States, Counties, & Localities

Contact Information

Email

Snail Mail:

Fred
889 Dante Ct.
Mantua, NJ 08051

USA

Email

Pony Express:

Tom
27 Christopher Dr.
Burton, NB E2V3H4
Canada