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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 Almira (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 Almira. 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 southwest 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 south.

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 south 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.

Almira is located in Wise County.

To see how the shape of Virginia's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Wise County: Harlan (KY), Letcher (KY), Pike (KY), Dickenson, Lee, Russell & Scott.

Below are the counties that are near Almira. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Almira:

  • Wise County     (The home county of Almira)
  • Buchanan County
  • Dickenson County
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Almira, with the one closest to Almira listed first.
    • Darnell Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Darnell Town is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darnell Town
    • Keokee
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Rawhide
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Dryden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Norton City
    • Norton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Russell County
  • Scott County
  • Floyd County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Almira, with the one closest to Almira listed first.
    • Weeksbury
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Weeksbury is located in Floyd County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weeksbury
    • Melvin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Melvin is located in Floyd County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
    • Wheelwright
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Wheelwright is located in Floyd County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelwright
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 487 people
    • Wheelwright Junction
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Bypro
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Beaver
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Hi Hat
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Teaberry
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Teaberry is located in Floyd County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teaberry
    • Galveston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Dema
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Dema is located in Floyd County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dema
    • McDowell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Minnie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Harlan County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Almira, with the one closest to Almira listed first.
    • Lynch
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Benham
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Benham is located in Harlan County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 417 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Benham <1>
    • Cumberland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Chad
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Holmes Mill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Holmes Mill is located in Harlan County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmes Mill
    • Closplint
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Closplint is located in Harlan County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Closplint
    • Louellen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Totz
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Knott County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Almira, with the one closest to Almira listed first.
    • Kite
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Kite is located in Knott County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kite
    • Pine Top
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Redfox
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Pippa Passes
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Pippa Passes is located in Knott County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pippa Passes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
    • Littcarr
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Littcarr is located in Knott County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littcarr
    • Raven
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Raven is located in Knott County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven
    • Garner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Garner is located in Knott County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner
    • Hindman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Leburn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Mousie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Sassafras
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Carrie
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Letcher County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Almira, with the one closest to Almira listed first.
    • Jenkins
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Burdine
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Burdine is located in Letcher County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdine
    • Cromona
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Cromona is located in Letcher County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromona
    • Fleming - Neon
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Fleming - Neon is located in Letcher County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleming - Neon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
    • McRoberts
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Tolliver Town
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Whitaker
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Hemphill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Neon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Seco
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Seco is located in Letcher County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seco
    • Mayking
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Millstone
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Millstone is located in Letcher County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstone
  • Perry County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Almira, with the one closest to Almira listed first.
    • Vicco
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Vicco is located in Perry County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vicco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 295 people
    • Cornettsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Cornettsville is located in Perry County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornettsville
    • Scuddy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Delphia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Delphia is located in Perry County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delphia
    • Happy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Happy is located in Perry County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy
    • Acup
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Slemp
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Slemp is located in Perry County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slemp
    • Jeff
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Hardburly
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Viper
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Viper is located in Perry County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viper
    • Dwarf
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Tribbey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Pike County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Almira, with the one closest to Almira listed first.
    • Dorton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Myra
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Myra is located in Pike County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myra
    • Jonancy
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Jonancy is located in Pike County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonancy
    • Virgie
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Virgie is located in Pike County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virgie
    • Ashcamp
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Ashcamp is located in Pike County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcamp
    • Hellier
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Lookout
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Lookout is located in Pike County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lookout
    • Rockhouse
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Rockhouse is located in Pike County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockhouse
    • Robinson Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Cedarville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Cedarville is located in Pike County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
    • Draffin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Elkhorn City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Almira, see our County-by-County Page for Almira.

Cemeteries Near Almira ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Almira.

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 Almira - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Almira covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Almira, with the one closest to Almira listed first.

  • Crouse Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Haddon Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Laurel Fork Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Gilliam Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Hillman Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Boggs Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Hamilton Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Dotson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Austin Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Potter Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Sam Bentley Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Mullins Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (997 more) ...
    • Mullins Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Mullins Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cantrell Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)

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 Almira in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Almira.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Almira, with the one closest to Almira listed first.

  • Pound
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Flat Gap
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Flat Gap is located in Wise County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Gap
  • Beefhide
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Beefhide is located in Letcher County (KY)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beefhide
  • Craftsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Craftsville is located in Letcher County (KY)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craftsville
  • Millstone
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Millstone is located in Letcher County (KY)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstone
  • Sergent
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Lipps
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Lipps is located in Wise County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lipps
  • Clintwood
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Dorton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Hurricane
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Hurricane is located in Wise County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurricane
  • Deane
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Deane is located in Letcher County (KY)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deane
  • Oven Fork
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Whitesburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Ashcamp
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Ashcamp is located in Pike County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcamp
    • Hall
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Hall is located in Knott County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hall

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Almira. See our List of 1890's Communities around Almira.

Newspapers Published in Almira ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Almira.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Almira, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Almira.

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 Almira:

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 Almira, 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- Almira) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.