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 Rufus (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 Rufus. 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 and hospitals 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.
Rufus is located in Caldwell 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 Caldwell County: Christian, Crittenden, Hopkins, Lyon & Trigg.
Below are the counties that are near Rufus. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rufus:
- Caldwell County (The home county of Rufus)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rufus, with the one closest to Rufus listed first.
- Creswell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Creswell is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creswell
- Lewistown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lewistown is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewistown
- Crider
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Crider is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crider
- Princeton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Fredonia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Claxton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Claxton is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claxton
- Dulaney
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dulaney is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dulaney
- McGowan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- McGowan is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGowan
- Cobb
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Cobb is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb
- Hopson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Hopson is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopson
- Christian County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rufus, with the one closest to Rufus listed first.
- Bainbridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bainbridge is located in Christian County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainbridge
- Empire
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Empire is located in Christian County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Crofton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Gracey
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Gracey is located in Christian County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gracey
- Crittenden County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rufus, with the one closest to Rufus listed first.
- Piney Fork
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Piney Fork is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Fork
- Crayne
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Crayne is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crayne
- Marion
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dycusburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Dycusburg is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dycusburg
- Population from the 2010 Census: 26 people
- Sheridan
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Sheridan is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Tolu
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Tolu is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolu
- Hopkins County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rufus, with the one closest to Rufus listed first.
- Dalton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Dalton is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton
- Charleston
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Charleston is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Dawson Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Fiddle Bow
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Fiddle Bow is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiddle Bow
- Richland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Richland is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
- Nebo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Nebo is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Saint Charles
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Saint Charles is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Charles
- Population from the 2020 Census: 269 people
- Manitou
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Manitou is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manitou
- Earlington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Madisonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Mortons Gap
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Nortonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Livingston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rufus, with the one closest to Rufus listed first.
- Pinckneyville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Pinckneyville is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinckneyville
- Salem
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Tiline
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Tiline is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiline
- Grand Rivers
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lake City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lake City is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
- Lola
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Lola is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lola
- Burna
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Burna is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burna
- Hampton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Hampton is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- Carrsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Carrsville is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
- Smithland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Lyon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rufus, with the one closest to Rufus listed first.
- Fairview
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Eddyville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lamasco
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Lamasco is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamasco
- Kuttawa
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Carmack
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Carmack is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmack
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rufus, with the one closest to Rufus listed first.
- Gilbertsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Calvert City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Calvert City is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvert City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,509 people
- Calvert City has also been known as:
- Calvert
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Calvert City <1>
- Trigg County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rufus, with the one closest to Rufus listed first.
- Wallonia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Wallonia is located in Trigg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallonia
- Cerulean
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Trigg Furnace
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Trigg Furnace is located in Trigg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trigg Furnace
- Cadiz
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Caledonia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Caledonia is located in Trigg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
- Canton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Canton is located in Trigg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rufus, with the one closest to Rufus listed first.
- Sullivan
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Sullivan is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
- Grangertown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Grangertown is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grangertown
- Sturgis
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Dekoven
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dekoven is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dekoven
- Breckinridge Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Breckinridge Center is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breckinridge Center
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rufus, with the one closest to Rufus listed first.
- Providence
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Blackford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Blackford is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackford
- Clay
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- West Wheatcroft
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- West Wheatcroft is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wheatcroft
- Wheatcroft
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Wheatcroft is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatcroft
- Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
- Lisman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lisman is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisman
- Free Union
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Free Union is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Free Union
- Vanderburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Vanderburg is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanderburg
- Dixon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Dixon is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 877 people
- Slaughters
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Slaughters is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slaughters
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Poole
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hardin County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rufus, with the one closest to Rufus listed first.
- Cave-In-Rock
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Lamb
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lamb is located in Hardin County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamb
- Saline Landing
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Saline Landing is located in Hardin County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline Landing
- Elizabethtown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mineral City ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mineral City is located in Hardin County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
- Rock Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rock Creek is located in Hardin County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Rosiclare
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pope County (IL)
- Hamletsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rufus, see our County-by-County Page for Rufus.
Cemeteries Near Rufus ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rufus.
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 Rufus - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rufus covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rufus, with the one closest to Rufus listed first.
- Holeman Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Morse Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Calvert Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Crowell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Morse Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jones Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Beckner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Willimson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Harper Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Towery Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Deboe Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Drennan Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (460 more) ...
- Carney Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Roberts Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lowery Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Rufus had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rufus, with the one closest to Rufus listed first.
- Creswell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Creswell is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creswell
- Enon
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Enon is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enon
- White Sulphur
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- White Sulphur is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Sulphur
- Crider
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Crider is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crider
- Shady Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Shady Grove is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Princeton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Dalton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Dalton is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton
- Fredonia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bakers
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bakers is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakers
- Dulaney
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dulaney is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dulaney
- Scottsburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Scottsburg is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottsburg
- Claxton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Claxton is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claxton
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Piney
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Piney is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney
- McGowan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- McGowan is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGowan
- Repton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Repton is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Repton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rufus. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rufus.
Newspapers Published in Rufus ...
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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rufus.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rufus, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rufus.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Rufus:
- Websites specific to Kentucky
- Pages specific to Caldwell County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Christian County
- Crittenden County
- Hopkins County
- Livingston County
- Lyon County
- Marshall County
- Trigg County
- Union County
- Webster County
- Hardin County
- Pope 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 Rufus, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rufus) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |