RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Kentucky >> Clay County >> Big Creek >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Big Creek (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 Big Creek. 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 Big Creek ...

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.

Another variation: Bigcreek.

  • A typical abbreviation for Big Creek: Big Crk. (or less commonly used: Big Ck. or Big Cr.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Big Creek. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Big Creek.

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

Big Creek 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 Big Creek. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Big Creek:

  • Clay County     (The home county of Big Creek)
  • Bell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
    • Beverly
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Rella
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Sims Fork
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Stoney Fork
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Stoney Fork is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Fork
    • Arjay
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Kettle Island
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Kettle Island is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kettle Island
    • Callaway
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Jenson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Dorton Branch
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Dorton Branch is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorton Branch
    • Fourmile
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Fourmile is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fourmile
    • Miracle
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Miracle is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miracle
    • Straight Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Straight Creek is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Creek
  • Breathitt County
  • Harlan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
    • Bledsoe
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Bledsoe is located in Harlan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bledsoe
    • Tacky Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Tacky Town is located in Harlan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacky Town
    • Coldiron
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Big Laurel
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Big Laurel is located in Harlan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Laurel
    • Wallins Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Wallins Creek is located in Harlan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallins Creek
      • Estimated population in 2016: 146 people
    • Baxter
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Loyall
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Rosspoint
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • South Wallins
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • South Wallins is located in Harlan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wallins
    • Harlan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Putney
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Coxton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
    • Tyner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Tyner is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyner
    • Annville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Gray Hawk
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Dabolt
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Dabolt is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dabolt
    • Peoples
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Peoples is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoples
    • McKee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Knott County
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
    • Woollum
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Woollum is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woollum
    • Scalf
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Scalf is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalf
    • Walker
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Walker is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
    • Crane Nest
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Dewitt
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Dewitt is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewitt
    • Girdler
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hinkle
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Hinkle is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkle
    • Cannon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Cannon is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon
    • Bimble
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Flat Lick
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Heidrick
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Barbourville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Laurel County
  • Lee County
  • Leslie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
    • Bear Branch
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Bear Branch is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Branch
    • Sizerock
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Thousandsticks
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Thousandsticks is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thousandsticks
    • Roark
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Essie
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Essie is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essie
    • Hyden
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Stinnett
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Stinnett is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinnett
    • Wendover
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Asher
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hoskinston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Hoskinston is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoskinston
    • Confluence
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Confluence is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confluence
    • Mozelle
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Letcher County
  • Owsley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
    • Mistletoe
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Mistletoe is located in Owsley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mistletoe
    • Sebastian
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Ricetown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Ricetown is located in Owsley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricetown
    • Island City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Island City is located in Owsley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island City
    • Southfork
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Booneville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Lerose
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Lerose is located in Owsley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lerose
    • Travellers Rest
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Vincent
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Vincent is located in Owsley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vincent
    • Pebworth
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  • Perry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
    • Saul
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Saul is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saul
    • Buckhorn
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Gays Creek
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Gays Creek is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays Creek
    • Avawam
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Krypton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Yerkes
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Busy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Busy is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busy
    • Chavies
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Butterfly
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Combs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Combs is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combs
    • Bonnyman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Bonnyman is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnyman
    • Hazard
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Big Creek ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Creek.

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 Big Creek - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Big Creek had a population of 49 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Spring Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Spring Creek is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
  • Goose Rock
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Goose Rock is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose Rock
  • Tanksley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Tanksley is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanksley
  • Ammie
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Ammie is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ammie
  • Brightshade
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Hyden
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Teges
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Manchester
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Hoskinston
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hoskinston is located in Leslie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoskinston
  • Laurel Creek
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Confluence
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Confluence is located in Leslie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confluence
  • Pigeonroost
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Pigeonroost is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeonroost
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Big Creek ...

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 5 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Creek.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Creek, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Creek.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Big Creek:

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 Big Creek, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Big Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.