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 Laura (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 Laura. 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.
Laura is located in Martin 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 Martin County: Floyd, Johnson, Lawrence, Pike, Mingo (WV) & Wayne (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Laura. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Laura:
- Martin County (The home county of Laura)
- The following are listed by their distance from Laura, with the one closest to Laura listed first.
- Pilgrim
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Pilgrim is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrim
- Beauty
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Beauty is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauty
- Lovely
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Lovely is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovely
- Warfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Debord
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hode
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Hode is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hode
- Inez
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Tomahawk
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Tomahawk is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomahawk
- Floyd County
- The following are listed by their distance from Laura, with the one closest to Laura listed first.
- Betsy Layne
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ivel
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Stanville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Tram
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Tram is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tram
- Banner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dwale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dwale is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwale
- Harold
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Harold is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harold
- Allen
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Allen is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Allen has also been known as:
- Beaver Creek Junction
- Beaver Creek
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allen <1>
- Auxier
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Auxier is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auxier
- Prestonsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Watergap
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Watergap is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watergap
- Dana
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Dana is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Laura, with the one closest to Laura listed first.
- Butcher Hollow
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Butcher Hollow is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butcher Hollow
- Meally
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Meally is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meally
- Nero
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Nero is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nero
- Williamsport
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Williamsport is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsport
- Whitehouse
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Whitehouse is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse
- Van Lear
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Thelma
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Thelma is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thelma
- West Van Lear
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- West Van Lear is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Van Lear
- Tutor Key
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Tutor Key is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tutor Key
- East Point
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Hagerhill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Hagerhill is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagerhill
- Lowmansville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lowmansville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowmansville
- Knott County
- Raven
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Raven is located in Knott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Laura, with the one closest to Laura listed first.
- Patrick
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Patrick is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick
- Peach Orchard
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Peach Orchard is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Orchard
- Richardson
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Richardson is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardson
- Clifford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Clifford is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
- Ben Bow
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Ben Bow is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Bow
- Ulysses ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Ulysses is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ulysses
- Maynard ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Maynard is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maynard
- Georges Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Georges Creek is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georges Creek
- Charley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Charley is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charley
- Gallup ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gallup is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallup
- Bumblebee ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Bumblebee is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bumblebee
- Noris ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Noris is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noris
- Magoffin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Laura, with the one closest to Laura listed first.
- Gapville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Gapville is located in Magoffin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gapville
- Gypsy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Gypsy is located in Magoffin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gypsy
- Gunlock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gunlock is located in Magoffin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunlock
- Ivyton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Ivyton is located in Magoffin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivyton
- Painters Lick
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Painters Lick is located in Magoffin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Painters Lick
- Falcon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Falcon is located in Magoffin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falcon
- Marshallville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Marshallville is located in Magoffin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshallville
- Pike County
- The following are listed by their distance from Laura, with the one closest to Laura listed first.
- Varney
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Varney is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varney
- Sidney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Gulnare
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Gulnare is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulnare
- South Williamson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Canada
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Forest Hills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Forest Hills is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Belfry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Huddy
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Huddy is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huddy
- Toler
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Toler is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toler
- Hardy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hardy is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardy
- Stone
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Stone is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone
- Blair Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Blair Town is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair Town
- Buchanan County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Laura, with the one closest to Laura listed first.
- Kelsa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kelsa is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsa
- Big Rock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Big Rock is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
- Lincoln County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Laura, with the one closest to Laura listed first.
- Harts
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wewanta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wewanta is located in Lincoln County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wewanta
- Logan County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Laura, with the one closest to Laura listed first.
- Holden
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Holden is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holden
- Troy Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Troy Town is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy Town
- Whirlwind
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Whirlwind is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whirlwind
- Hedgeview
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Hedgeview is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedgeview
- Whitman
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Omar
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Stirrat
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Stirrat is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stirrat
- Thompson Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Thompson Town is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson Town
- Logan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Switzer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Switzer is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Switzer
- Wilkinson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- West Logan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Mingo County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Laura, with the one closest to Laura listed first.
- Chattaroy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Chattaroy is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattaroy
- Greyeagle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Greyeagle is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greyeagle
- Kermit
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Williamson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Delbarton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Myrtle
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Myrtle is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle
- Sprigg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sprigg is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprigg
- Red Jacket
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Red Jacket is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Jacket
- Dingess
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Dingess is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dingess
- Blackberry City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Blackberry City is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackberry City
- Matewan
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Thacker
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Thacker is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thacker
- Wayne County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Laura, with the one closest to Laura listed first.
- Stonecoal
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Stonecoal is located in Wayne County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonecoal
- Wilsondale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Wilsondale is located in Wayne County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsondale
- Doane
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Doane is located in Wayne County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doane
- Dunlow
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Dunlow is located in Wayne County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlow
- Effie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Effie is located in Wayne County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Effie
- Kiahsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Kiahsville is located in Wayne County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiahsville
- Cove Gap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Cove Gap is located in Wayne County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Gap
- Fort Gay
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Fort Gay is located in Wayne County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Gay
- Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
- Mineral Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Mineral Springs is located in Wayne County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
- East Lynn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- East Lynn is located in Wayne County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lynn
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Laura, see our County-by-County Page for Laura.
Cemeteries Near Laura ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Laura.
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 Laura - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Laura covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Laura, with the one closest to Laura listed first.
- Caney Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Petercave Memorial Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Kirk Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Apple Orchard Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fraley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Orrison R Lowe #1 Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Weddington Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Stepp Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Kirk Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Maynard Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Lowe Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Stepp Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (714 more) ...
- Romans Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Orrison Lowe Branch #2 Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Hayes Lowe Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
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 Laura in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Laura.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Laura, with the one closest to Laura listed first.
- Rural
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Rural is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural
- Pilgrim
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Pilgrim is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrim
- Thomas
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Thomas is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
- Gulnare
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Gulnare is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulnare
- Warfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Canada
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Stonecoal
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Stonecoal is located in Wayne County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonecoal
- Inez
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Zebulon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Zebulon is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zebulon
- Coal Run Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Coal Run Village is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Run Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,494 people
- Pinsonfork
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pinsonfork is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinsonfork
- Dwale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dwale is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwale
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Kimper
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Kimper is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimper
- Pikeville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Peach Orchard
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Peach Orchard is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Orchard
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Laura. See our List of 1890's Communities around Laura.
Newspapers Published in Laura ...
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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Laura.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Laura, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Laura.
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 Laura:
- Websites specific to Kentucky
- Pages specific to Martin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Floyd County
- Johnson County
- Knott County
- Lawrence County
- Magoffin County
- Pike County
- Buchanan County
- Lincoln County
- Logan County
- Mingo County
- Wayne 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 Laura, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Laura) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |