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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 Ashers Fork (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 Ashers Fork. 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 Ashers Fork ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Ashers Fork: Ashers Frk.
  • While the name of this community is Ashers Fork, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Ashers Fork may originally have been Asher's Fork.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Ashers Fork might be written as Asher Fork.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 north 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.

Ashers Fork is located in Clay County.

To see how the shape of Kentucky's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Clay County: Bell, Jackson, Knox, Laurel, Leslie, Owsley & Perry.

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

  • Clay County     (The home county of Ashers Fork)
  • Bell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashers Fork, with the one closest to Ashers Fork listed first.
    • Beverly
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Rella
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Sims Fork
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Stoney Fork
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Stoney Fork is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Fork
    • Arjay
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Callaway
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Kettle Island
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Kettle Island is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kettle Island
    • Dorton Branch
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Dorton Branch is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorton Branch
    • Jenson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Straight Creek
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Straight Creek is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Creek
    • Fourmile
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Fourmile is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fourmile
    • Miracle
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Miracle is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miracle
  • Breathitt County
  • Harlan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashers Fork, with the one closest to Ashers Fork listed first.
    • Tacky Town
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Tacky Town is located in Harlan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacky Town
    • Bledsoe
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Bledsoe is located in Harlan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bledsoe
    • Coldiron
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • South Wallins
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • South Wallins is located in Harlan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wallins
    • Wallins Creek
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Wallins Creek is located in Harlan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallins Creek
      • Estimated population in 2016: 146 people
    • Baxter
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Loyall
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Harlan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Pathfork
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Rosspoint
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Twila
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Big Laurel
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Big Laurel is located in Harlan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Laurel
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashers Fork, with the one closest to Ashers Fork listed first.
    • Tyner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Tyner is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyner
    • Annville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashers Fork, with the one closest to Ashers Fork listed first.
    • Scalf
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Scalf is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalf
    • Walker
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Walker is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
    • Dewitt
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Dewitt is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewitt
    • Woollum
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Woollum is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woollum
    • Hinkle
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Hinkle is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkle
    • Girdler
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Bimble
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Cannon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Cannon is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon
    • Flat Lick
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Crane Nest
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Heidrick
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Artemus
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Artemus is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artemus
  • Laurel County
  • Leslie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashers Fork, with the one closest to Ashers Fork listed first.
    • Roark
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Essie
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Essie is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essie
    • Warbranch
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Warbranch is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warbranch
    • Asher
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Mozelle
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Helton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Helton is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helton
    • Bear Branch
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Bear Branch is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Branch
    • Hoskinston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Hoskinston is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoskinston
    • Stinnett
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Stinnett is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinnett
    • Chappell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Sizerock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Thousandsticks
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Thousandsticks is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thousandsticks
  • Owsley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashers Fork, with the one closest to Ashers Fork listed first.
    • Mistletoe
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Mistletoe is located in Owsley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mistletoe
    • Sebastian
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Island City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Island City is located in Owsley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island City
    • Ricetown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Ricetown is located in Owsley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricetown
    • Southfork
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Perry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashers Fork, with the one closest to Ashers Fork listed first.
    • Saul
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Saul is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saul
    • Gays Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Gays Creek is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays Creek
    • Avawam
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Buckhorn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Yerkes
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Busy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Busy is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busy
    • Krypton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Butterfly
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Chavies
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bonnyman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Bonnyman is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnyman
    • Combs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Combs is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combs
    • Hazard
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Whitley County
  • Claiborne County (TN)
  • Lee County (VA)

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

Cemeteries Near Ashers Fork ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ashers Fork.

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 Ashers Fork - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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.<5>

While we didn't find Ashers Fork in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ashers Fork.

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

  • Brightshade
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Spring Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Spring Creek is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
  • Goose Rock
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Goose Rock is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose Rock
  • Walker
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Walker is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
  • Big Creek
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Helton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Helton is located in Leslie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helton
  • Hoskinston
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Hoskinston is located in Leslie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoskinston
  • Manchester
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Pigeonroost
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Pigeonroost is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeonroost
  • Girdler
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Flat Lick
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Callaway
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Tanksley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Tanksley is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanksley
    • Crane Nest
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Wallins Creek
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Wallins Creek is located in Harlan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallins Creek
      • Estimated population in 2016: 146 people

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

Newspapers Published in Ashers Fork ...

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 23 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ashers Fork.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ashers Fork, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ashers Fork.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Ashers Fork:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ashers Fork) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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.
<5>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 Ashers Fork, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.