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 Sydney (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 Sydney. 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 hospitals and 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.
Sydney is located in Pike 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 Pike County: Floyd, Knott, Letcher, Martin, Buchanan (VA), Dickenson (VA), Wise (VA) & Mingo (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Sydney. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sydney:
- Pike County (The home county of Sydney)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sydney, with the one closest to Sydney listed first.
- Sidney
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Canada
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Forest Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Forest Hills is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Varney
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Varney is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varney
- Belfry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Huddy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Huddy is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huddy
- Toler
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Toler is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toler
- South Williamson
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- McAndrews
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- McAndrews is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McAndrews
- Stone
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Stone is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone
- Hardy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Hardy is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardy
- Pinsonfork
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pinsonfork is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinsonfork
- Floyd County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sydney, with the one closest to Sydney listed first.
- Betsy Layne
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Harold
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Harold is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harold
- Stanville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Tram
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Tram is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tram
- Osborn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Osborn is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborn
- Ivel
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Grethel
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Grethel is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grethel
- Banner
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Dana
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Dana is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- Galveston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Galveston is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galveston
- Blue Moon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Blue Moon is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Moon
- Allen
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- 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>
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sydney, with the one closest to Sydney listed first.
- Butcher Hollow
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Butcher Hollow is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butcher Hollow
- Nero
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Nero is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nero
- Meally
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Meally is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meally
- Van Lear
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Williamsport
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Williamsport is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsport
- West Van Lear
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- West Van Lear is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Van Lear
- Whitehouse
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Whitehouse is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse
- East Point
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Hagerhill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hagerhill is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagerhill
- Thelma
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Thelma is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thelma
- Collista
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Collista is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collista
- Tutor Key
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Tutor Key is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tutor Key
- Knott County
- Raven
(28 miles [45.1 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 Sydney, with the one closest to Sydney listed first.
- Patrick
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Patrick is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick
- Peach Orchard
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Peach Orchard is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Orchard
- Clifford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Clifford is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
- Richardson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Richardson is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardson
- Ben Bow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ben Bow is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Bow
- Ulysses ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ulysses is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ulysses
- Maynard ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Maynard is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maynard
- Georges Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Georges Creek is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georges Creek
- Gallup ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Gallup is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallup
- Martin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sydney, with the one closest to Sydney listed first.
- Pilgrim
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Pilgrim is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrim
- Lovely
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Lovely is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovely
- Beauty
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Beauty is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauty
- Warfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Debord
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hode
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Hode is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hode
- Inez
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Tomahawk
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Tomahawk is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomahawk
- Buchanan County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sydney, with the one closest to Sydney listed first.
- Big Rock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Big Rock is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
- Kelsa
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kelsa is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsa
- Grundy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Royal City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Royal City is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal City
- Matney
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Matney is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matney
- Vansant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dickenson County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sydney, with the one closest to Sydney listed first.
- Haysi
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Haysi is located in Dickenson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haysi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 460 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haysi <1>
- Tarpon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Tarpon is located in Dickenson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarpon
- Lincoln County (WV)
- Harts
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Logan County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sydney, with the one closest to Sydney listed first.
- Stirrat
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Stirrat is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stirrat
- Holden
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Holden is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holden
- Omar
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Troy Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Troy Town is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy Town
- Whitman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hedgeview
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Hedgeview is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedgeview
- Switzer
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Switzer is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Switzer
- Thompson Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Thompson Town is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson Town
- Whirlwind
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Whirlwind is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whirlwind
- Wilkinson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Logan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Peach Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Peach Creek is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Creek
- McDowell County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sydney, with the one closest to Sydney listed first.
- Wyoming City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Wyoming City is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming City
- Panther
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Panther is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
- Mingo County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sydney, with the one closest to Sydney listed first.
- Williamson
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Chattaroy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Chattaroy is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattaroy
- Sprigg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Sprigg is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprigg
- Blackberry City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Blackberry City is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackberry City
- Matewan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Red Jacket
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Red Jacket is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Jacket
- Delbarton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Thacker
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Thacker is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thacker
- Myrtle
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Myrtle is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle
- Musick
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Musick is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Musick
- Kermit
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Greyeagle
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Greyeagle is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greyeagle
- Wayne County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sydney, with the one closest to Sydney listed first.
- Stonecoal
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Stonecoal is located in Wayne County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonecoal
- Wilsondale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Wilsondale is located in Wayne County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsondale
- Doane
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Doane is located in Wayne County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doane
- Dunlow
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Dunlow is located in Wayne County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlow
- Wyoming County (WV)
- Cub City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Cub City is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cub City
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sydney, see our County-by-County Page for Sydney.
Cemeteries Near Sydney ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sydney.
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 Sydney - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sydney covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sydney, with the one closest to Sydney listed first.
- Smith Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Scott Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Stanley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Francis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Smith Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- W J May Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Varney Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Williams Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Fraley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Mountain View Memory Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Murphy Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Romans Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (645 more) ...
- Williamson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Stepp Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Orrison R Lowe #1 Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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 Sydney in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sydney.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sydney, with the one closest to Sydney listed first.
- Canada
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rural
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Rural is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural
- Pinsonfork
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pinsonfork is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinsonfork
- Zebulon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Zebulon is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zebulon
- Kimper
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Kimper is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimper
- Gulnare
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Gulnare is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulnare
- Pilgrim
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Pilgrim is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrim
- Coal Run Village
(13 miles [20.9 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
- Pikeville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fishtrap
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Fishtrap is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishtrap
- Coleman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Coleman is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
- Phelps
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Thomas
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Thomas is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
- Jamboree
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jamboree is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamboree
- Warfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sydney. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sydney.
Newspapers Published in Sydney ...
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 15 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sydney.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sydney, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sydney.
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 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 Sydney:
- Websites specific to Kentucky
- Pages specific to Pike County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Floyd County
- Johnson County
- Knott County
- Lawrence County
- Martin County
- Buchanan County
- Dickenson County
- Lincoln County
- Logan County
- McDowell County
- Mingo County
- Wayne County
- Wyoming 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 Sydney, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sydney) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |