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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 Letcher (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 Letcher. 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 hospitals and 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.

Letcher is located in Letcher 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 Letcher County: Harlan, Knott, Perry, Pike & Wise (VA).

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

  • Letcher County     (The home county of Letcher)
  • Breathitt County
  • Floyd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Letcher, with the one closest to Letcher listed first.
    • Wheelwright
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Wheelwright is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelwright
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 487 people
    • Bypro
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Weeksbury
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Weeksbury is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weeksbury
    • Wheelwright Junction
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Dema
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Dema is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dema
    • Melvin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Melvin is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
    • Hi Hat
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Wayland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Wayland is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
    • Lackey
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Lackey is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackey
    • Garrett
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Garrett is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrett
    • Hueysville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Beaver
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Harlan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Letcher, with the one closest to Letcher listed first.
    • Cumberland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Benham
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Chad
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Lynch
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Totz
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Closplint
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Closplint is located in Harlan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Closplint
    • Louellen
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Big Laurel
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Big Laurel is located in Harlan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Laurel
    • Holmes Mill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Holmes Mill is located in Harlan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmes Mill
    • Short Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Short Town is located in Harlan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Town
    • Bailey Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Darkmont
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Knott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Letcher, with the one closest to Letcher listed first.
    • Redfox
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Littcarr
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Littcarr is located in Knott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littcarr
    • Sassafras
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Pine Top
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Carrie
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Hindman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Leburn
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Pippa Passes
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Pippa Passes is located in Knott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pippa Passes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
    • Garner
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Garner is located in Knott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner
    • Kite
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Kite is located in Knott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kite
    • Emmalena
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Fisty
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Leslie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Letcher, with the one closest to Letcher listed first.
    • Yeaddiss
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Yeaddiss is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yeaddiss
    • Cutshin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Smilax
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Smilax is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smilax
    • Wooton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Hyden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Wendover
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Chappell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Confluence
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Confluence is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confluence
    • Hoskinston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Hoskinston is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoskinston
    • Stinnett
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Stinnett is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinnett
    • Asher
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Thousandsticks
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Thousandsticks is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thousandsticks
  • Magoffin County
    • Gunlock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Gunlock is located in Magoffin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunlock
  • Perry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Letcher, with the one closest to Letcher listed first.
    • Cornettsville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Cornettsville is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornettsville
    • Scuddy
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Vicco
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Vicco is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vicco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 295 people
    • Happy
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Happy is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy
    • Acup
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Slemp
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Slemp is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slemp
    • Delphia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Delphia is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delphia
    • Jeff
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Viper
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Viper is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viper
    • Hardburly
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hazard
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Tribbey
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Pike County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Letcher, with the one closest to Letcher listed first.
    • Dorton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Myra
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Myra is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myra
    • Jonancy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jonancy is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonancy
    • Virgie
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Virgie is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virgie
    • Hellier
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Robinson Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Lookout
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Lookout is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lookout
    • Yeager
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Ashcamp
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Ashcamp is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcamp
    • Rockhouse
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Rockhouse is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockhouse
  • Dickenson County (VA)
  • Lee County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Letcher, with the one closest to Letcher listed first.
    • Darnell Town
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Darnell Town is located in Lee County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darnell Town
    • Keokee
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Rawhide
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Saint Charles
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Saint Charles is located in Lee County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Charles
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
    • Dryden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Ely
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Ely is located in Lee County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ely
    • Pennington Gap
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Stickleyville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Norton City (VA)
    • Norton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Norton is located in Norton City (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,985 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norton <1>
  • Scott County (VA)
  • Wise County (VA)

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

Cemeteries Near Letcher ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Letcher.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Letcher, with the one closest to Letcher 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 Letcher in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Letcher.

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

  • Indian Bottom
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Indian Bottom is located in Letcher County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Bottom
  • Roxana
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Roxana is located in Letcher County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxana
  • Jeremiah
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Smoot Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Smoot Creek is located in Letcher County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smoot Creek
  • Kings Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Whitesburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Sassafras
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Linefork
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Pine Top
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Partridge
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Partridge is located in Letcher County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Partridge
  • Oven Fork
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Sergent
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Viper
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Viper is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viper
    • Millstone
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Millstone is located in Letcher County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstone
    • Craftsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Craftsville is located in Letcher County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craftsville

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

Newspapers Published in Letcher ...

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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Letcher.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Letcher, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Letcher.

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 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 Letcher:

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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Letcher) 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 Letcher, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.