I live in Short Gap, West Virginia, which at that time would have been
considered Western Virginia. So, which part of "Western Virginia" are you
intererested in? The University of West Virginia is located at Morgantown,
WV, and the library there may have some old newspapers. See:
http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/

I have done some research in the Martinsburg, WV area. As a matter of fact,
John Alburtis (my ancestor) would have been the newspaper publisher during
1811-1812 in Martinsburg. I'm not sure how many of his newspapers still
remain, by the president of the Berkely County Historical Society, Don Wood,
might be able to help you. Their website is:
http://www.bchs.org/
Also the library in Martinsburg has a geneology room that might also have
old newspapers from 1811-1812.
http://www.youseemore.com/martinsburgberkeley/
Keep in mind however, John's son, Samuel Alburtis (also my ancestor) was
publishing during the Civil War and his newspaper company was taken over by
the Union Army and then distroyed when the Union had to flee the city. So,
some of my John Alburtis's old newspapers may have been destroyed during
this time. Martinsburg changed hands many times during the Civil War.

I'm not sure how much luck you'd have researching in Romney, WV. It also
changed hands too many times during the Civil War, and the town is so small.
But there was and is a newspaper and there is a library in the town. I've
never visited it though.

The Keyser, WV public library does have some old newspapers. Their website
is:
http://keyser.lib.wv.us/

That's about all the info I can give you regarding researching near my part
of "Western Virginia" during the 1811-1812 period. Although I do live very
close to Cumberland, Maryland. And Cumberland was a very booming town at one
time. It was comparable in size to Baltimore, MD, but that's what oldtimers
claim. Who knows if this is true or not. Anyway, there is a great research
library at Allegany College for geneologists, so they might have old
Cumberland newspapers, which might report about the effects of the earth
quake in the surrounding "Western Virginia" area. See:
http://www.allegany.edu/library/

I would also suggest subscribing to the www.rootsweb.com e-mail listservers
for the particular county in "Western Virginia" you are interested in.
Although the folks on these listservers are interested in their family
trees, they also know a bit about the history of their particular county and
could also give you some tips on where to go to research. Or they might have
something to share that happened specifically to their own ancestor, you
just never know....

Happy Hunting!
Lonny J. Watro

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