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 Taft (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 Taft. 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 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 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.
Taft is located in Owsley 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 Owsley County : Breathitt , Clay , Jackson & Lee .
Below are the counties that are near Taft. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Taft:
Owsley County (The home county of Taft)
The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
Sebastian (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
Sebastian is located in Owsley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sebastian Southfork (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Southfork is located in Owsley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southfork Ricetown (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
Ricetown is located in Owsley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricetown Island City (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
Island City is located in Owsley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island City Mistletoe (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
Mistletoe is located in Owsley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mistletoe Booneville (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
Travellers Rest (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
Travellers Rest is located in Owsley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travellers Rest Vincent (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
Vincent is located in Owsley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vincent Lerose (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
Lerose is located in Owsley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lerose Pebworth (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
Pebworth is located in Owsley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pebworth Bell County
Beverly (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
Beverly is located in Bell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly Breathitt County
The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
Jetts Creek (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
Jetts Creek is located in Breathitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jetts Creek Copebranch (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
Copebranch is located in Breathitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copebranch Chenowee (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
Chenowee is located in Breathitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chenowee Oakdale (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
Oakdale is located in Breathitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale Whick (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
Whick is located in Breathitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whick Frozen Creek (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
Frozen Creek is located in Breathitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frozen Creek Jackson (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
Kragon (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
Kragon is located in Breathitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kragon Lost Creek (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
Lost Creek is located in Breathitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Creek Quicksand (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
Quicksand is located in Breathitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quicksand Wolverine (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
Wolverine is located in Breathitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolverine Clayhole (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
Clayhole is located in Breathitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayhole Clay County
The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
Teges (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
Teges is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teges Oneida (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
Oneida is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneida Sextons Creek (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
Sextons Creek is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sextons Creek Laurel Creek (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
Laurel Creek is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Creek Barcreek (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
Barcreek is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barcreek Burning Springs (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
Burning Springs is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burning Springs Fall Rock (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
Fall Rock is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall Rock Eriline (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
Eriline is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eriline Sidell (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
Sidell is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidell Manchester (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
Big Creek (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
Big Creek is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Creek Benge (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
Benge is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benge Estill County
The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
Lynch Town (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
Lynch Town is located in Estill County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Town Wagersville (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
Wagersville is located in Estill County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagersville Miller's Creek (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
Miller's Creek is located in Estill County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller's Creek Locust Branch (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
Locust Branch is located in Estill County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Branch Ravenna (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
Furnace (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
Furnace is located in Estill County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Irvine (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
Jackson County
The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
Tyner (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
Tyner is located in Jackson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyner Gray Hawk (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
Gray Hawk is located in Jackson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray Hawk Annville (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
McKee (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
Dabolt (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
Dabolt is located in Jackson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dabolt Foxtown (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
Foxtown is located in Jackson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foxtown Peoples (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
Peoples is located in Jackson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoples Waneta (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
Waneta is located in Jackson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waneta Sandgap (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
Sandgap is located in Jackson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandgap Kerby Knob (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
Kerby Knob is located in Jackson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerby Knob Knox County
The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
Woollum (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
Woollum is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woollum Crane Nest (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
Crane Nest is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crane Nest Girdler (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
Girdler is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girdler Scalf (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
Scalf is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalf Laurel County
The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
Greenmount (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
Greenmount is located in Laurel County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenmount Bush (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
Bush is located in Laurel County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bush Lake (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
Lake is located in Laurel County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Marydell (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
Marydell is located in Laurel County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marydell Maplesville (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
Maplesville is located in Laurel County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplesville East Bernstadt (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
Pittsburg (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
Pittsburg is located in Laurel County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg London (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
Sublimity City (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
Sublimity City is located in Laurel County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sublimity City Lee County
The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
Idamay (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
Idamay is located in Lee County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idamay Lone (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
Lone is located in Lee County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Heidelberg (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
Heidelberg is located in Lee County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg Tallega (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
Tallega is located in Lee County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallega Athol (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
Athol is located in Lee County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athol Beattyville (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
Saint Helens (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
Primrose (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
Primrose is located in Lee County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primrose Vada (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
Vada is located in Lee County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vada Fincastle (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
Fincastle is located in Lee County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fincastle Williba (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
Williba is located in Lee County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williba Zoe (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
Zoe is located in Lee County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zoe Leslie County
The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
Sizerock (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
Sizerock is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sizerock Bear Branch (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
Bear Branch is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Branch Confluence (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
Confluence is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confluence Thousandsticks (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
Thousandsticks is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thousandsticks Hyden (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
Roark (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
Roark is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roark Essie (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
Essie is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essie Stinnett (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
Stinnett is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinnett Wendover (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
Wooton (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
Wooton is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooton Hoskinston (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
Hoskinston is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoskinston Asher (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
Asher is located in Leslie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asher Madison County
Duluth (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
Duluth is located in Madison County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duluth Perry County
The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
Buckhorn (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
Saul (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
Saul is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saul Gays Creek (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
Gays Creek is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays Creek Chavies (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
Chavies is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chavies Krypton (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
Krypton is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krypton Yerkes (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
Yerkes is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkes Busy (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
Busy is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busy Butterfly (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
Butterfly is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butterfly Avawam (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
Avawam is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avawam Bonnyman (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
Bonnyman is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnyman Dice (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
Dice is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dice Combs (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
Combs is located in Perry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combs Powell County
The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
Barker Branch (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
Barker Branch is located in Powell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Branch South Fork (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
South Fork is located in Powell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Fork Knowlton (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
Knowlton is located in Powell County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowlton Slade (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
Rockcastle County
The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
Livingston (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
Mullins (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
Mullins is located in Rockcastle County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullins Climax (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
Climax is located in Rockcastle County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax Wolfe County
The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
Mary (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
Mary is located in Wolfe County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mary Bethany (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
Bethany is located in Wolfe County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany Campton (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
Rogers (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
Pine Ridge (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
Lexie (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
Lexie is located in Wolfe County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexie
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Taft, see our County-by-County Page for Taft .
Cemeteries Near Taft ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Taft.
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 Taft - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Taft covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
King Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the west)
Bishop Bend Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the east)
Wilson Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
Middleton Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
Russell Moore Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
Bishop Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Williams Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Lower Saddler Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
Saddler Cemetery North (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
Saddler Cemetery South (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
Job Allen Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Job Allen Cemetery The Job Allen Cemetery has also been known as:
Allen Cemetery Griffith Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Continue List (553 more) ...
Morris Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
Esau - Gabbard Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esau - Gabbard Cemetery The Esau - Gabbard Cemetery has also been known as:
Gabbard Branch Cemetery Henry Gabbard / James Cole Cemetery Indian Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery Smith Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
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 Taft in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Taft.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
Conkling (Less than 2 miles to the north)
Conkling is located in Owsley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conkling Sebastian (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
Sebastian is located in Owsley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sebastian Southfork (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Southfork is located in Owsley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southfork Teges (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
Teges is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teges Island City (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
Island City is located in Owsley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island City Sextons Creek (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
Sextons Creek is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sextons Creek Ammie (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
Ammie is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ammie Eversole (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
Eversole is located in Owsley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eversole Sturgeon (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
Sturgeon is located in Owsley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgeon Laurel Creek (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
Laurel Creek is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Creek Travellers Rest (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
Travellers Rest is located in Owsley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travellers Rest Maulden (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
Maulden is located in Jackson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maulden Continue List (14 more) ...
Burning Springs (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
Burning Springs is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burning Springs Tanksley (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
Tanksley is located in Clay County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanksley Crockettsville (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
Crockettsville is located in Breathitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crockettsville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Taft. See our List of 1890's Communities around Taft .
Newspapers Published in Taft ...
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 9 newspapers that have been published in the area around Taft.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Taft, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3> Extended Newspaper List for Taft.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Taft:
Websites specific to Kentucky Pages specific to Owsley County Genealogy information for nearby counties
Bell County Breathitt County Clay County Estill County Jackson County Knox County Laurel County Lee County Leslie County Madison County Perry County Powell County Rockcastle County Wolfe County Cemetery Information and Directories for Kentucky Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Taft. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page .
The official website for State of Kentucky: https://www.kentucky.gov/
Footnotes ...
<1> While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. 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 . 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- Taft) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. 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 Taft, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.