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 Belcher (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 Belcher. 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 southeast 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 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.
Belcher is located in Pike 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 Pike County: Floyd, Knott, Letcher, Martin, Buchanan (VA), Dickenson (VA), Wise (VA) & Mingo (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Belcher. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Belcher:
- Pike County (The home county of Belcher)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belcher, with the one closest to Belcher listed first.
- Draffin
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Draffin is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draffin
- Marrowbone
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Marrowbone is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marrowbone
- Cedarville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cedarville is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Elkhorn City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lick Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lick Creek is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Rockhouse
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Rockhouse is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockhouse
- Lookout
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Lookout is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lookout
- Ashcamp
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ashcamp is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcamp
- Hellier
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hellier is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hellier
- Phyllis
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Phyllis is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phyllis
- Mouthcard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mouthcard is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mouthcard
- Garden Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Garden Village is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Village
- Fedscreek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fedscreek is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fedscreek
- Floyd County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belcher, with the one closest to Belcher listed first.
- Galveston
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Galveston is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galveston
- Beaver
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Beaver is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Teaberry
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Teaberry is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teaberry
- Osborn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Osborn is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborn
- Melvin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Melvin is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
- Weeksbury
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Weeksbury is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weeksbury
- Grethel
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Grethel is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grethel
- Wheelwright Junction
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Wheelwright
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Wheelwright is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelwright
- Population from the 2020 Census: 487 people
- Harold
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Harold is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harold
- Bypro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Hi Hat
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Betsy Layne
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Knott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belcher, with the one closest to Belcher listed first.
- Kite
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Kite is located in Knott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kite
- Raven
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Raven is located in Knott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven
- Pippa Passes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Pippa Passes is located in Knott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pippa Passes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
- Mousie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Mousie is located in Knott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mousie
- Pine Top
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Pine Top is located in Knott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Top
- Garner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Garner is located in Knott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner
- Letcher County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belcher, with the one closest to Belcher listed first.
- Burdine
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Burdine is located in Letcher County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdine
- Jenkins
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- McRoberts
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- McRoberts is located in Letcher County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRoberts
- Cromona
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cromona is located in Letcher County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromona
- Fleming - Neon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Fleming - Neon is located in Letcher County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleming - Neon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
- Hemphill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hemphill is located in Letcher County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
- Hemphill has also been known as:
- Jackhorn
- Neon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Tolliver Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Tolliver Town is located in Letcher County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolliver Town
- Seco
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Seco is located in Letcher County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seco
- Whitaker
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Whitaker is located in Letcher County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitaker
- Deane
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Deane is located in Letcher County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deane
- Millstone
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Millstone is located in Letcher County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstone
- Farraday
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Farraday is located in Letcher County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farraday
- Buchanan County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belcher, with the one closest to Belcher listed first.
- Big Rock
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Big Rock is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
- Grundy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Royal City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Royal City is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal City
- Leemaster
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Leemaster is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemaster
- Vansant
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kelsa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kelsa is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsa
- Janey
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Janey is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janey
- Matney
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Matney is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matney
- Mavisdale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mavisdale is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mavisdale
- Rowe
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Rowe is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe
- Council
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Council is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
- Paynesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Paynesville is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Jackson Flats
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Jackson Flats is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
- Dickenson County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belcher, with the one closest to Belcher listed first.
- Tarpon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Tarpon is located in Dickenson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarpon
- Haysi
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Haysi is located in Dickenson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haysi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 460 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haysi <1>
- Clinchco
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Clintwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Darwin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Darwin is located in Dickenson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darwin
- Omaha
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Omaha is located in Dickenson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omaha
- Aily
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Aily is located in Dickenson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aily
- Nora
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Nora is located in Dickenson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora
- Bucu
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bucu is located in Dickenson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucu
- Carrie
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Carrie is located in Dickenson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrie
- Herald
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Herald is located in Dickenson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herald
- Russell County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belcher, with the one closest to Belcher listed first.
- Dante
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Dante is located in Russell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dante
- Russell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Russell is located in Russell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Artrip
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Artrip is located in Russell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artrip
- Carterton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Carterton is located in Russell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carterton
- Kiser ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Kiser is located in Russell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiser
- Cleveland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cleveland is located in Russell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Dye
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dye is located in Russell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dye
- Wise County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belcher, with the one closest to Belcher listed first.
- Haddonfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Haddonfield is located in Wise County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haddonfield
- Almira
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Almira is located in Wise County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almira
- Pound
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Coeburn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Wise
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hamilton town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hamilton town is located in Wise County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton town
- Dwina
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Dwina is located in Wise County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwina
- Virginia City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Virginia City is located in Wise County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia City
- Esserville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Esserville is located in Wise County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esserville
- Saint Paul
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- McDowell County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belcher, with the one closest to Belcher listed first.
- Paynesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Paynesville is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Jackson Flats
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Jackson Flats is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
- Panther
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Panther is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
- Wyoming City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wyoming City is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming City
- Mingo County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belcher, with the one closest to Belcher listed first.
- Blackberry City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Blackberry City is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackberry City
- Thacker
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Thacker is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thacker
- Matewan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sprigg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sprigg is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprigg
- Williamson
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Red Jacket
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Red Jacket is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Jacket
- Chattaroy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Chattaroy is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattaroy
- Wharncliffe
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Delbarton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Musick
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Musick is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Musick
- Pie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pie is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pie
- Baisden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Gilbert Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Gilbert Creek is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert Creek
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Belcher, see our County-by-County Page for Belcher.
Cemeteries Near Belcher ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Belcher.
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 Belcher - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Belcher covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Belcher, with the one closest to Belcher listed first.
- Wilson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Wilson Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Draffin.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76596 <2>
- Ratliff Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Honey Fork Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Johnson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Childers Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childers Cemetery
- The Childers Cemetery has also been known as:
- Johnny Bear Cemetery
- Johnny Bear Childers Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2192030 <2>
- Mullins Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Good Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Justice Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Maritha Johnson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bowling Fork Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Blackburn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Hall Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (870 more) ...
- Fay Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Willis Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Looney Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
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 Belcher in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Belcher.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Belcher, with the one closest to Belcher listed first.
- Venters
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Venters is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venters
- Lookout
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Lookout is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lookout
- Ashcamp
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ashcamp is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcamp
- Fishtrap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Fishtrap is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishtrap
- Mouthcard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mouthcard is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mouthcard
- Robinson Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Robinson Creek is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson Creek
- Tarpon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Tarpon is located in Dickenson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarpon
- Big Rock
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Big Rock is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
- Kimper
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Kimper is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimper
- Dorton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Pikeville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Clintwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Colley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Colley is located in Dickenson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colley
- Zebulon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Zebulon is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zebulon
- Coleman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Coleman is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Belcher. See our List of 1890's Communities around Belcher.
Newspapers Published in Belcher ...
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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Belcher.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Belcher, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Belcher.
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 Belcher:
- Websites specific to Kentucky
- Pages specific to Pike County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Floyd County
- Knott County
- Letcher County
- Buchanan County
- Dickenson County
- Russell County
- Wise County
- McDowell County
- Mingo County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Kentucky
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 Belcher, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Belcher) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |