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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 Pathfork (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 Pathfork. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Pathfork is located in Harlan 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 Harlan County: Bell, Leslie, Letcher, Perry, Lee (VA) & Wise (VA).

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

  • Harlan County     (The home county of Pathfork)
  • Bell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pathfork, with the one closest to Pathfork listed first.
    • Callaway
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Stoney Fork
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Stoney Fork is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Fork
    • Miracle
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Miracle is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miracle
    • Varilla
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Kettle Island
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Kettle Island is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kettle Island
    • Calvin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Calvin is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvin
    • Jenson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Rella
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Sims Fork
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Arjay
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Straight Creek
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Straight Creek is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Creek
    • Beverly
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pathfork, with the one closest to Pathfork listed first.
    • Ashers Fork
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Brightshade
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Goose Rock
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Goose Rock is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose Rock
    • Big Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Garrard
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Garrard is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrard
    • Eriline
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Eriline is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eriline
    • Hima
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pathfork, with the one closest to Pathfork listed first.
    • Walker
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Walker is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
    • Dewitt
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Dewitt is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewitt
    • Scalf
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Scalf is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalf
    • Flat Lick
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Trosper
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Trosper is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trosper
    • Artemus
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Artemus is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artemus
    • Bimble
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Warren
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Wheeler
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Hinkle
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Hinkle is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkle
    • Cannon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Cannon is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon
    • Barbourville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Leslie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pathfork, with the one closest to Pathfork listed first.
    • Warbranch
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Warbranch is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warbranch
    • Helton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Helton is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helton
    • Mozelle
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Chappell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Roark
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Asher
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Essie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Essie is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essie
    • Hoskinston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Hoskinston is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoskinston
    • Stinnett
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Stinnett is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinnett
    • Cutshin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Yeaddiss
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Yeaddiss is located in Leslie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yeaddiss
    • Wendover
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Letcher County
    • Gordon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Gordon is located in Letcher County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
  • Perry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pathfork, with the one closest to Pathfork listed first.
    • Delphia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Delphia is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delphia
    • Slemp
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Slemp is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slemp
  • Whitley County
  • Claiborne County (TN)
  • Grainger County (TN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pathfork, with the one closest to Pathfork listed first.
    • Thorn Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Beans
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Beans is located in Grainger County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans
      • Estimated population in 2014: 3,084 people
    • Bean Station
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Bowen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Hancock County (TN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pathfork, with the one closest to Pathfork listed first.
    • Alanthus Hill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Alanthus Hill is located in Hancock County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alanthus Hill
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,498 people
    • Xenophon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Xenophon is located in Hancock County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Xenophon
    • Sneedville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Duck Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Trent Valley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Trent Valley is located in Hancock County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trent Valley
      • Estimated population in 2014: 4,157 people
    • Yount Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Kyles Ford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Willis
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Willis is located in Hancock County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willis
      • Estimated population in 2014: 387 people
  • Hawkins County (TN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pathfork, with the one closest to Pathfork listed first.
    • Eidson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Mooresburg Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Mooresburg Springs is located in Hawkins County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooresburg Springs
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 941 people
  • Union County (TN)
    • Haynes ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Haynes is located in Union County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes
  • Lee County (VA)

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

Cemeteries Near Pathfork ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pathfork.

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

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

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

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

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

Newspapers Published in Pathfork ...

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 Pathfork.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pathfork, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pathfork.

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 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 Pathfork:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Pathfork) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Pathfork, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.