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 Baxter (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 Baxter. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Baxter is located in Harlan 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 Harlan County : Bell , Leslie , Letcher , Perry , Lee (VA) & Wise (VA) .
Below are the counties that are near Baxter. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Baxter:
Harlan County (The home county of Baxter)
The following are listed by their distance from Baxter, with the one closest to Baxter listed first.
Harlan (Less than 2 miles to the south)
Loyall (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
Loyall is located in Harlan County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyall Population from the 2020 Census: 585 people
Rosspoint (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
Rosspoint is located in Harlan County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosspoint Coxton (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
Coxton is located in Harlan County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coxton Ages (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
Ages is located in Harlan County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ages Bledsoe (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
Bledsoe is located in Harlan County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bledsoe Mary Alice (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Mary Alice is located in Harlan County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mary Alice South Wallins (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
South Wallins is located in Harlan County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wallins Wallins Creek (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
Wallins Creek is located in Harlan County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallins Creek Estimated population in 2016: 146 people
Verda (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
Verda is located in Harlan County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verda Putney (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
Bobs Creek (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
Bobs Creek is located in Harlan County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bobs Creek Twila (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
Twila is located in Harlan County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twila
Bell County
The following are listed by their distance from Baxter, with the one closest to Baxter listed first.
Stoney Fork (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
Stoney Fork is located in Bell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Fork Beverly (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
Beverly is located in Bell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly Callaway (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
Callaway is located in Bell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callaway Miracle (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
Miracle is located in Bell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miracle Kettle Island (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
Kettle Island is located in Bell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kettle Island Rella (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
Rella is located in Bell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rella Sims Fork (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
Sims Fork is located in Bell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sims Fork Varilla (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
Varilla is located in Bell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varilla Arjay (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
Arjay is located in Bell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arjay Jenson (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
Jenson is located in Bell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenson Calvin (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
Calvin is located in Bell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvin Straight Creek (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
Straight Creek is located in Bell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Creek Dorton Branch (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
Dorton Branch is located in Bell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorton Branch
Clay County
The following are listed by their distance from Baxter, with the one closest to Baxter listed first.
Ashers Fork (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
Ashers Fork is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashers Fork Brightshade (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
Brightshade is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brightshade Big Creek (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
Big Creek is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Creek Goose Rock (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
Goose Rock is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose Rock Eriline (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
Eriline is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eriline Garrard (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
Garrard is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrard Barcreek (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
Barcreek is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barcreek Hima (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
Hima is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hima
Knott County
Sassafras (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
Knox County
The following are listed by their distance from Baxter, with the one closest to Baxter listed first.
Scalf (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
Scalf is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalf Walker (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
Walker is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker Dewitt (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
Dewitt is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewitt Flat Lick (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
Flat Lick is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Lick Bimble (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
Hinkle (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
Hinkle is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkle Trosper (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
Trosper is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trosper Artemus (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
Artemus is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artemus Girdler (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
Girdler is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girdler Cannon (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
Cannon is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon Warren (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
Warren is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren Wheeler (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
Wheeler is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Woollum (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
Woollum is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woollum
Leslie County
The following are listed by their distance from Baxter, with the one closest to Baxter listed first.
Helton (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
Helton is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helton Warbranch (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
Warbranch is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warbranch Chappell (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
Chappell is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chappell Mozelle (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
Mozelle is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mozelle Asher (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
Asher is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asher Hoskinston (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
Hoskinston is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoskinston Yeaddiss (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
Yeaddiss is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yeaddiss Essie (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
Essie is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essie Roark (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
Roark is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roark Cutshin (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
Cutshin is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutshin Stinnett (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
Stinnett is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinnett Wendover (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
Smilax (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
Smilax is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smilax
Letcher County
The following are listed by their distance from Baxter, with the one closest to Baxter listed first.
Gordon (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
Gordon is located in Letcher County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon Hallie (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
Linefork (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
Linefork is located in Letcher County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linefork Flint (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
Flint is located in Letcher County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Partridge (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
Partridge is located in Letcher County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Partridge Kings Creek (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
Kings Creek is located in Letcher County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Creek Blackey (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
Blackey is located in Letcher County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackey Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
Roxana (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
Roxana is located in Letcher County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxana Letcher (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
Letcher is located in Letcher County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letcher Hot Spot (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
Hot Spot is located in Letcher County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Spot Hot Spot has also been known as:
Hotspot
Jeremiah (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
Uz (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
Uz is located in Letcher County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uz
Perry County
The following are listed by their distance from Baxter, with the one closest to Baxter listed first.
Delphia (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
Delphia is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delphia Slemp (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
Slemp is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slemp Cornettsville (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
Cornettsville is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornettsville Viper (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
Viper is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viper Avawam (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
Avawam is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avawam Jeff (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
Happy (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
Happy is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Scuddy (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
Busy (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
Busy is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busy Combs (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
Combs is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combs Hazard (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
Acup (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
Acup is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acup Vicco (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
Vicco is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vicco Population from the 2020 Census: 295 people
Claiborne County (TN)
The following are listed by their distance from Baxter, with the one closest to Baxter listed first.
Cumberland Gap (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
Shawanee (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
Shawanee is located in Claiborne County (TN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawanee Harrogate (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
Minton Mill (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
Minton Mill is located in Claiborne County (TN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minton Mill Estimated population in 2014: 527 people
Tazewell (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
Hancock County (TN)
The following are listed by their distance from Baxter, with the one closest to Baxter listed first.
Alanthus Hill (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
Alanthus Hill is located in Hancock County (TN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alanthus Hill Estimated population in 2014: 2,498 people
Sneedville (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
Xenophon (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
Xenophon is located in Hancock County (TN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Xenophon Kyles Ford (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
Willis (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
Willis is located in Hancock County (TN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willis Estimated population in 2014: 387 people
Duck Creek (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
Duck Creek is located in Hancock County (TN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Creek Trent Valley (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
Trent Valley is located in Hancock County (TN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trent Valley Estimated population in 2014: 4,157 people
Yount Town (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
Yount Town is located in Hancock County (TN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yount Town
Hawkins County (TN)
Eidson (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
Eidson is located in Hawkins County (TN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eidson
Lee County (VA)
The following are listed by their distance from Baxter, with the one closest to Baxter listed first.
Hubbard Springs (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
Hubbard Springs is located in Lee County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard Springs Rose Hill (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
Saint Charles (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
Saint Charles is located in Lee County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Charles Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
Fleenortown (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
Fleenortown is located in Lee County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleenortown Ewing (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
Jonesville (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
Pennington Gap (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
Pennington Gap is located in Lee County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington Gap Population from the 2020 Census: 1,708 people
Ely (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
Ely is located in Lee County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ely Van (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
Van is located in Lee County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Wheeler (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
Wheeler is located in Lee County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Dryden (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
Dryden is located in Lee County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dryden Blackwater (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
Blackwater is located in Lee County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwater Darnell Town (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
Darnell Town is located in Lee County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darnell Town
Wise County (VA)
The following are listed by their distance from Baxter, with the one closest to Baxter listed first.
Exeter (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
Exeter is located in Wise County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeter Osaka (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
Osaka is located in Wise County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osaka Appalachia (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
Big Stone Gap (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Baxter, see our County-by-County Page for Baxter .
Cemeteries Near Baxter ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Baxter.
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 Baxter - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Baxter covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Baxter, with the one closest to Baxter listed first.
Nolan Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
Johnson Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the west)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson Cemetery The Johnson Cemetery has also been known as:
Johnson Family Cemetery
Resthaven Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the west)
Gross Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
Jones Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
Middleton Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Napier Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Brown Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Green Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Wilder Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
Howard Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
Sergent Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
Continue List (714 more) ...
Holbrook Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
Green Hill Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
Beech Grove Cemetery (5 miles [8 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Baxter had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Baxter, with the one closest to Baxter listed first.
Harlan (Less than 2 miles to the south)
Wallins Creek (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
Wallins Creek is located in Harlan County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallins Creek Estimated population in 2016: 146 people
Creech (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
Creech is located in Harlan County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creech Helton (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
Helton is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helton Evarts (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
Hagan (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
Hagan is located in Lee County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagan Hubbard Springs (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
Hubbard Springs is located in Lee County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard Springs Boons Path (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
Boons Path is located in Lee County (VA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boons Path Callaway (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
Callaway is located in Bell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callaway Rose Hill (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
Hoskinston (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
Hoskinston is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoskinston Cubage (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
Cubage is located in Bell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cubage Continue List (14 more) ...
Ewing (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
Jonesville (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
Cutshin (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
Cutshin is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutshin
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Baxter. See our List of 1890's Communities around Baxter .
Newspapers Published in Baxter ...
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 9 newspapers that have been published in the area around Baxter.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Baxter, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4> . A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Baxter.
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 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 Baxter:
Websites specific to Kentucky
Pages specific to Harlan County
Genealogy information for nearby counties
Bell County
Clay County
Knott County
Knox County
Leslie County
Letcher County
Perry County
Claiborne County
Hancock County
Hawkins County
Lee County
Wise County
Cemetery Information and Directories for Kentucky
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Baxter. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page .
The official website for State of Kentucky: https://www.kentucky.gov/
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 Baxter, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Baxter) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.