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 Bethesda (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 Bethesda. 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 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.
Bethesda is located in Wayne 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 Wayne County: Clinton, McCreary, Pulaski, Russell, Pickett (TN) & Scott (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Bethesda. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bethesda:
- Wayne County (The home county of Bethesda)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethesda, with the one closest to Bethesda listed first.
- Shearer Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Shearer Valley is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shearer Valley
- Murl
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Murl is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murl
- Sumpter
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sumpter is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumpter
- Monticello
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Parnell
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Parnell is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnell
- Slickford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Slickford is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slickford
- Rankin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rankin is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rankin
- Mount Pisgah
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Pisgah is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pisgah
- Parmleysville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Parmleysville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parmleysville
- Mill Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mill Springs is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Springs
- Ritner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Ritner is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritner
- Frazer
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Frazer is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazer
- Adair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethesda, with the one closest to Bethesda listed first.
- Crocus
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Crocus is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crocus
- Cundiff
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cundiff is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cundiff
- Montpelier
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Montpelier is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montpelier
- Inroad
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Inroad is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inroad
- Gentrys Mill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Gentrys Mill is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gentrys Mill
- Glens Fork
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Glens Fork is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glens Fork
- Sano
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Sano is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sano
- Joppa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Joppa is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa
- Chance
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Chance is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chance
- Craycraft
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Craycraft is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craycraft
- Fairplay
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fairplay is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplay
- Ozark
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ozark is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ozark
- Casey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethesda, with the one closest to Bethesda listed first.
- Honey Acre
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Honey Acre is located in Casey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Acre
- Windsor
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Teddy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Teddy is located in Casey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teddy
- Evona
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Evona is located in Casey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evona
- Mintonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Mintonville is located in Casey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mintonville
- Dunnville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Dunnville is located in Casey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnville
- Phil
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Phil is located in Casey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phil
- Ware
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ware is located in Casey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Argyle
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Argyle is located in Casey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
- Evans Ford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Evans Ford is located in Casey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans Ford
- Labascus
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Labascus is located in Casey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Labascus
- Rubert Ford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Rubert Ford is located in Casey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubert Ford
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethesda, with the one closest to Bethesda listed first.
- Alpha
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Alpha is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
- Cumberland City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Cumberland City is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland City
- Savage
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Savage is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage
- Albany
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ida
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Ida is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ida
- Static
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Static is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Static
- Browns Crossroads
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Browns Crossroads is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Crossroads
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethesda, with the one closest to Bethesda listed first.
- Bakerton
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bakerton is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakerton
- Burkesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Dougan Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Dougan Town is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dougan Town
- Grider
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Grider is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grider
- Leslie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Leslie is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leslie
- Waterview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Waterview is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterview
- McCreary County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethesda, with the one closest to Bethesda listed first.
- Smith Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Smith Town is located in McCreary County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Town
- Wiborg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Wiborg is located in McCreary County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiborg
- Greenwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Greenwood is located in McCreary County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Marshes Siding
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Marshes Siding is located in McCreary County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshes Siding
- Stearns
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Whitley City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Revelo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Revelo is located in McCreary County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Revelo
- Pine Knot
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Strunk
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Strunk is located in McCreary County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strunk
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethesda, with the one closest to Bethesda listed first.
- Vinnie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Vinnie is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinnie
- Faubush
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Faubush is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faubush
- Bronston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Burnside
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Nancy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Tateville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Tateville is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tateville
- Sloans Valley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sloans Valley is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sloans Valley
- Alpine
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Alpine is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
- Ferguson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ferguson is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 943 people
- Northfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Northfield is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northfield
- Somerset
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ansel
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ansel is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ansel
- Russell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethesda, with the one closest to Bethesda listed first.
- Lula ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lula is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lula
- Stokes ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Stokes is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokes
- Long Bottom
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Long Bottom is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Bottom
- Freedom
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Freedom is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom
- Jamestown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Esto
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Esto is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esto
- Middletown
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Middletown is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Salem
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Salem is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Russell Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fentress County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethesda, with the one closest to Bethesda listed first.
- Pall Mall
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Little Crab
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Little Crab is located in Fentress County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Crab
- Jamestown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Gernt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Gernt is located in Fentress County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gernt
- Estimated population in 2014: 39,267 people
- Cooper
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Cooper is located in Fentress County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,385 people
- Allardt
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Cumberland Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Cumberland Grove is located in Fentress County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Grove
- Estimated population in 2014: 489 people
- Armathwaite
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Armathwaite is located in Fentress County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armathwaite
- Estimated population in 2014: 11,634 people
- Overton County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethesda, with the one closest to Bethesda listed first.
- Taylors Crossroads
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Taylors Crossroads is located in Overton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylors Crossroads
- Free Communion
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Free Communion is located in Overton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Free Communion
- Oakley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oakley is located in Overton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakley
- Oak Dale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Dale is located in Overton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Dale
- Estimated population in 2014: 222 people
- Pickett County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethesda, with the one closest to Bethesda listed first.
- Chanute
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Chanute is located in Pickett County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chanute
- Static
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Static is located in Pickett County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Static
- Cedar Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Grove is located in Pickett County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Byrdstown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Scott County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethesda, with the one closest to Bethesda listed first.
- Foster Crossroads
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Foster Crossroads is located in Scott County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Crossroads
- Verdun
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Verdun is located in Scott County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdun
- West Oneida
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- West Oneida is located in Scott County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oneida
- Isham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Isham is located in Scott County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isham
- Oneida
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- State Line
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- State Line is located in Scott County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
- Winfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bethesda, see our County-by-County Page for Bethesda.
Cemeteries Near Bethesda ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bethesda.
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 Bethesda - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bethesda covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bethesda, with the one closest to Bethesda listed first.
- Bethesda Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- New Charity Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Old Charity Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Frances Southwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Isbell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Garth Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Daffron Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Beck - Rector Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lucy Shearer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Garrett Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Bob Southwood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Stinson - Coil Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (640 more) ...
- Tuggle - Young Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Duncan Valley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Miller Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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.<2>
While we didn't find Bethesda in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bethesda.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bethesda, with the one closest to Bethesda listed first.
- Shearer Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Shearer Valley is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shearer Valley
- Sumpter
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sumpter is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumpter
- Monticello
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gapcreek
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Gapcreek is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gapcreek
- Parnell
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Parnell is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnell
- Alpha
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Alpha is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
- Powersburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Powersburg is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powersburg
- Eadsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Eadsville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eadsville
- Cabell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cabell is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabell
- Steubenville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Steubenville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steubenville
- Cartwright
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Cartwright is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartwright
- Sunnybrook
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Sunnybrook is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnybrook
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Coopersville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Coopersville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopersville
- Rankin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rankin is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rankin
- Cumberland City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Cumberland City is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland City
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bethesda. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bethesda.
Newspapers Published in Bethesda ...
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 10 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bethesda.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bethesda, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bethesda.
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 websites either 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 Bethesda:
- Websites specific to Kentucky
- Pages specific to Wayne County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adair County
- Casey County
- Clinton County
- Cumberland County
- McCreary County
- Pulaski County
- Russell County
- Fentress County
- Overton County
- Pickett County
- Scott 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> | 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 Bethesda, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bethesda) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |