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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 Lake (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 Lake. 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.

Lake is located in Laurel 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 Laurel County: Clay, Jackson, Knox, McCreary, Pulaski, Rockcastle & Whitley.

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

  • Laurel County     (The home county of Lake)
  • Bell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake, with the one closest to Lake listed first.
    • Fourmile
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Fourmile is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fourmile
    • Beverly
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Rella
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Sims Fork
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Arjay
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Dorton Branch
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Dorton Branch is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorton Branch
    • Pineville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Straight Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Straight Creek is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Creek
    • Ingram
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Jenson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Kettle Island
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Kettle Island is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kettle Island
    • Stoney Fork
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Stoney Fork is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Fork
  • Clay County
  • Harlan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake, with the one closest to Lake listed first.
    • Tacky Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Tacky Town is located in Harlan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacky Town
    • Bledsoe
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Bledsoe is located in Harlan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bledsoe
    • Coldiron
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake, with the one closest to Lake listed first.
    • Annville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Peoples
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Peoples is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoples
    • Tyner
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Tyner is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyner
    • Dabolt
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Dabolt is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dabolt
    • Gray Hawk
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • McKee
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Waneta
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Waneta is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waneta
    • Foxtown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Sandgap
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Sandgap is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandgap
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake, with the one closest to Lake listed first.
    • Crane Nest
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Woollum
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Woollum is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woollum
    • Girdler
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Gray
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Cannon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Cannon is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon
    • Hinkle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Hinkle is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkle
    • Heidrick
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • North Corbin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • North Corbin is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Corbin
    • Barbourville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Bimble
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Scalf
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Scalf is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalf
    • Dewitt
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Dewitt is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewitt
  • Lee County
  • Leslie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake, with the one closest to Lake listed first.
    • Bear Branch
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Bear Branch is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Branch
    • Roark
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Sizerock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Essie
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Essie is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essie
    • Warbranch
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Warbranch is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warbranch
    • Asher
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Thousandsticks
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Thousandsticks is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thousandsticks
    • Hoskinston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Hoskinston is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoskinston
    • Mozelle
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Stinnett
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Stinnett is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinnett
    • Helton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Helton is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helton
    • Hyden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Owsley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake, with the one closest to Lake listed first.
    • Island City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Island City is located in Owsley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island City
    • Mistletoe
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Mistletoe is located in Owsley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mistletoe
    • Sebastian
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Travellers Rest
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Ricetown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Ricetown is located in Owsley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricetown
    • Southfork
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Vincent
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Vincent is located in Owsley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vincent
    • Booneville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pebworth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Perry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake, with the one closest to Lake listed first.
    • Saul
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Saul is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saul
    • Buckhorn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Gays Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Gays Creek is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays Creek
  • Pulaski County
  • Rockcastle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake, with the one closest to Lake listed first.
    • Livingston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Mullins
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Mullins is located in Rockcastle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullins
    • Orlando
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hansford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Vernon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Whitley County

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

Cemeteries Near Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lake.

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 Lake - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lake, with the one closest to Lake 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.<4>

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

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

  • Marydell
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Cane Creek
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Cane Creek is located in Laurel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
  • Pigeonroost
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Pigeonroost is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeonroost
  • Tuttle
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Tuttle is located in Laurel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuttle
  • Crane Nest
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Fletcher
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Fletcher is located in Laurel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
  • Sidell
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Langnau
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Langnau is located in Laurel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langnau
  • Larue
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Crawford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Crawford is located in Laurel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
  • Manchester
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Maplesville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Benge
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Benge is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benge
    • Fariston
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Fariston is located in Laurel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fariston
    • Girdler
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Lake ...

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 Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lake, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lake.

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 helpful 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 Lake:

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>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- Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.