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 Varney (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 Varney. 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 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.
Varney 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 Varney. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Varney:
- Pike County (The home county of Varney)
- The following are listed by their distance from Varney, with the one closest to Varney listed first.
- Sidney
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Canada
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Gulnare
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Gulnare is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulnare
- Forest Hills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Forest Hills is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- South Williamson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Belfry
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Huddy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Huddy is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huddy
- Hardy
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Hardy is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardy
- Toler
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Toler is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toler
- McAndrews
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- McAndrews is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McAndrews
- Stone
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Stone is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone
- Kimper
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kimper is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimper
- Floyd County
- The following are listed by their distance from Varney, with the one closest to Varney listed first.
- Betsy Layne
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Stanville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tram
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Tram is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tram
- Harold
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Harold is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harold
- Ivel
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Osborn
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Osborn is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborn
- Banner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Dana
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Dana is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- Grethel
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Grethel is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grethel
- Allen
(16 miles [25.7 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>
- Dwale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Dwale is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwale
- Blue Moon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Blue Moon is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Moon
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Varney, with the one closest to Varney listed first.
- Butcher Hollow
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Butcher Hollow is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butcher Hollow
- Nero
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Nero is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nero
- Meally
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Meally is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meally
- Van Lear
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Williamsport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Williamsport is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsport
- West Van Lear
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- West Van Lear is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Van Lear
- East Point
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Hagerhill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hagerhill is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagerhill
- Thelma
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Thelma is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thelma
- Whitehouse
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Whitehouse is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse
- Tutor Key
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Tutor Key is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tutor Key
- Collista
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Collista is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collista
- Knott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Varney, with the one closest to Varney listed first.
- Raven
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Raven is located in Knott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven
- Mousie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mousie is located in Knott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mousie
- Kite
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kite is located in Knott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kite
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Varney, with the one closest to Varney listed first.
- Patrick
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Patrick is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick
- Peach Orchard
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Peach Orchard is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Orchard
- Richardson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Richardson is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardson
- Clifford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Clifford is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
- Ben Bow
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ben Bow is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Bow
- Ulysses ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ulysses is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ulysses
- Maynard ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Maynard is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maynard
- Georges Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Georges Creek is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georges Creek
- Charley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Charley is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charley
- Gallup ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gallup is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallup
- Bumblebee ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bumblebee is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bumblebee
- Noris ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Noris is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noris
- Magoffin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Varney, with the one closest to Varney listed first.
- Gunlock
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Gunlock is located in Magoffin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunlock
- Gapville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Gapville is located in Magoffin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gapville
- Gypsy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Gypsy is located in Magoffin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gypsy
- Ivyton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Ivyton is located in Magoffin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivyton
- Martin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Varney, with the one closest to Varney listed first.
- Pilgrim
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Pilgrim is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrim
- Beauty
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Beauty is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauty
- Lovely
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Lovely is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovely
- Warfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Debord
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Inez
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Hode
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Hode is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hode
- Tomahawk
(18 miles [29 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 Varney, with the one closest to Varney listed first.
- Big Rock
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Big Rock is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
- Kelsa
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Kelsa is located in Buchanan County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsa
- Grundy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dickenson County (VA)
- Haysi
(30 miles [48.3 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>
- Logan County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Varney, with the one closest to Varney listed first.
- Stirrat
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Stirrat is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stirrat
- Holden
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Holden is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holden
- Omar
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Troy Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Troy Town is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy Town
- Whitman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hedgeview
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hedgeview is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedgeview
- Whirlwind
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Whirlwind is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whirlwind
- Switzer
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Switzer is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Switzer
- Thompson Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Thompson Town is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson Town
- Wilkinson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Logan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Peach Creek
(28 miles [45.1 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 Varney, with the one closest to Varney listed first.
- Wyoming City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Wyoming City is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming City
- Panther
(30 miles [48.3 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 Varney, with the one closest to Varney listed first.
- Williamson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Chattaroy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Chattaroy is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattaroy
- Sprigg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Sprigg is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprigg
- Blackberry City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Blackberry City is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackberry City
- Delbarton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Matewan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Greyeagle
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Greyeagle is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greyeagle
- Kermit
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Red Jacket
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Red Jacket is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Jacket
- Myrtle
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Myrtle is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle
- Thacker
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Thacker is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thacker
- Musick
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Musick is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Musick
- Wayne County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Varney, with the one closest to Varney listed first.
- Stonecoal
(16 miles [25.7 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
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Doane is located in Wayne County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doane
- Dunlow
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Dunlow is located in Wayne County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlow
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Varney, see our County-by-County Page for Varney.
Cemeteries Near Varney ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Varney.
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 Varney - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Varney covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Varney, with the one closest to Varney listed first.
- Williams Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Varney Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Smith Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Francis Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Smith Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Scott Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Ford Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pinson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Chestnut Point Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Stanley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Romans Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Stepp Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (655 more) ...
- Fraley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Apple Orchard Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pinson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
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 Varney in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Varney.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Varney, with the one closest to Varney listed first.
- Canada
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Rural
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Rural is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural
- Gulnare
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Gulnare is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulnare
- Zebulon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Zebulon is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zebulon
- Thomas
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Thomas is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
- Kimper
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kimper is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimper
- Pinsonfork
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pinsonfork is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinsonfork
- Coal Run Village
(11 miles [17.7 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
- Pilgrim
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Pilgrim is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrim
- Pikeville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Warfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Fishtrap
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Fishtrap is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishtrap
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Inez
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Stonecoal
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Stonecoal is located in Wayne County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonecoal
- Dwale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Dwale is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwale
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Varney. See our List of 1890's Communities around Varney.
Newspapers Published in Varney ...
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 Varney.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Varney, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Varney.
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 Varney:
- Websites specific to Kentucky
- Pages specific to Pike County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Floyd County
- Johnson County
- Knott County
- Lawrence County
- Magoffin County
- Martin County
- Buchanan County
- Dickenson County
- Logan County
- McDowell County
- Mingo County
- Wayne 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 Varney, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Varney) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |