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 Rock Spring (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 Rock Spring. 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 Rock Spring ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Rock Spring: Rock Spg. (or less commonly used: Rock Spng. or Rock Sprng.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Rock Spring. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rock Spring.
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 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.
Rock Spring is located in Webster 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 Webster County: Caldwell, Crittenden, Henderson, Hopkins, McLean & Union.
Below are the counties that are near Rock Spring. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rock Spring:
- Webster County (The home county of Rock Spring)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Spring, with the one closest to Rock Spring listed first.
- West Wheatcroft
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- West Wheatcroft is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wheatcroft
- Wheatcroft
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Wheatcroft is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatcroft
- Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
- Clay
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Blackford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Blackford is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackford
- Free Union
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Free Union is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Free Union
- Lisman
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Lisman is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisman
- Providence
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Dixon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Dixon is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 877 people
- Vanderburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Vanderburg is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanderburg
- Poole
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Slaughters
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Slaughters is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slaughters
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Sebree
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Caldwell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Spring, with the one closest to Rock Spring listed first.
- Creswell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Creswell is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creswell
- Fredonia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Crider
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Crider is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crider
- Lewistown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lewistown is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewistown
- Princeton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Claxton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Claxton is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claxton
- Dulaney
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Dulaney is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dulaney
- McGowan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- McGowan is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGowan
- Crittenden County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Spring, with the one closest to Rock Spring listed first.
- Marion
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Piney Fork
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Piney Fork is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Fork
- Crayne
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Crayne is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crayne
- Sheridan
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sheridan is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Tolu
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Tolu is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolu
- Dycusburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dycusburg is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dycusburg
- Population from the 2010 Census: 26 people
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Spring, with the one closest to Rock Spring listed first.
- Dixie
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dixie is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Corydon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Smith Mills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Smith Mills is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Mills
- Robards
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Niagara
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Niagara is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niagara
- Henderson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hopkins County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Spring, with the one closest to Rock Spring listed first.
- Dalton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Dalton is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton
- Nebo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Nebo is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Manitou
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Manitou is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manitou
- Fiddle Bow
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fiddle Bow is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiddle Bow
- Charleston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Charleston is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Richland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Richland is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
- Hanson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Madisonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Vandetta
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Vandetta is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandetta
- Dawson Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Earlington
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Charles
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Charles is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Charles
- Population from the 2020 Census: 269 people
- Livingston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Spring, with the one closest to Rock Spring listed first.
- Salem
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lola
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lola is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lola
- Carrsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Carrsville is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
- Pinckneyville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pinckneyville is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinckneyville
- Hampton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hampton is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- Tiline
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tiline is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiline
- Lyon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Spring, with the one closest to Rock Spring listed first.
- Eddyville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Fairview
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Fairview is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- McLean County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Spring, with the one closest to Rock Spring listed first.
- Beech Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Lemon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Lemon is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemon
- Elba
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Elba is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Spring, with the one closest to Rock Spring listed first.
- Sullivan
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Sullivan is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
- Sturgis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Grangertown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Grangertown is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grangertown
- Dekoven
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dekoven is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dekoven
- Breckinridge Center
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Breckinridge Center is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breckinridge Center
- Flournoy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Flournoy is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flournoy
- Morganfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Chapman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Chapman is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapman
- Waverly
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Hitesville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Hitesville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hitesville
- Raleigh
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Raleigh is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh
- Uniontown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Uniontown is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
- Gallatin County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Spring, with the one closest to Rock Spring listed first.
- Old Shawneetown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Old Shawneetown is located in Gallatin County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Shawneetown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
- Bowlesville ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bowlesville is located in Gallatin County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlesville
- Shawneetown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Junction
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lawler
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lawler is located in Gallatin County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawler
- Inman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Inman is located in Gallatin County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman
- Ridgway
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Equality
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hardin County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Spring, with the one closest to Rock Spring listed first.
- Lamb
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Lamb is located in Hardin County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamb
- Saline Landing
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Saline Landing is located in Hardin County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline Landing
- Cave-In-Rock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Cave-In-Rock is located in Hardin County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave-In-Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
- Cave-In-Rock has also been known as:
- Cave-In-Rock village
- Rock Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Rock Creek is located in Hardin County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Elizabethtown
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Karbers Ridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Mineral City ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Mineral City is located in Hardin County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
- Rosiclare
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Shetlerville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Shetlerville is located in Hardin County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shetlerville
- Pope County (IL)
- Leisure City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Leisure City is located in Pope County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure City
- Posey County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Spring, with the one closest to Rock Spring listed first.
- Hovey
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Hovey is located in Posey County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hovey
- Mount Vernon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rock Spring, see our County-by-County Page for Rock Spring.
Cemeteries Near Rock Spring ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rock Spring.
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 Rock Spring - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rock Spring covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rock Spring, with the one closest to Rock Spring listed first.
- New Harmony Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Blackwell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Odd Fellows Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Nunn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Frazer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Richards Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Johnson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Johnson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pythian Ridge Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Crowell Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (382 more) ...
- Tosh Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Babb Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Williams Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
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>
While we didn't find Rock Spring in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rock Spring.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rock Spring, with the one closest to Rock Spring listed first.
- Clay
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Hearin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hearin is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hearin
- Sullivan
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Sullivan is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
- Blackford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Blackford is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackford
- Cullen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Cullen is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullen
- Nunn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Nunn is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunn
- Piney
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Piney is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney
- Sturgis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Free Union
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Free Union is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Free Union
- Lisman
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Lisman is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisman
- Providence
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Boxville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Boxville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boxville
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Mattoon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mattoon is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattoon
- Repton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Repton is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Repton
- Shady Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Shady Grove is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rock Spring. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rock Spring.
Newspapers Published in Rock Spring ...
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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rock Spring.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rock Spring, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rock Spring.
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 either 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 Rock Spring:
- Websites specific to Kentucky
- Pages specific to Webster County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Caldwell County
- Crittenden County
- Henderson County
- Hopkins County
- Livingston County
- Lyon County
- McLean County
- Union County
- Gallatin County
- Hardin County
- Pope County
- Posey 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> | 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 Rock Spring, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Rock Spring) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |