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 Birchleaf (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 Birchleaf. 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.
Birchleaf is located in Dickenson 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 Dickenson County: Pike (KY), Buchanan, Russell & Wise.
Below are the counties that are near Birchleaf. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Birchleaf:
- Dickenson County (The home county of Birchleaf)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birchleaf, with the one closest to Birchleaf listed first.
- Haysi
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Clinchco
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Tarpon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Tarpon is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarpon
- Aily
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Aily is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aily
- Bucu
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bucu is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucu
- Nora
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Nora is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora
- Carrie
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Carrie is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrie
- Omaha
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Omaha is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omaha
- Clintwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Darwin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Darwin is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darwin
- Herald
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Herald is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herald
- Buchanan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birchleaf, with the one closest to Birchleaf listed first.
- Leemaster
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Leemaster is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemaster
- Vansant
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Grundy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Royal City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Royal City is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal City
- Council
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Council is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
- Janey
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Janey is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janey
- Rowe
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Rowe is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe
- Big Rock
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Big Rock is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
- Mavisdale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Mavisdale is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mavisdale
- Matney
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Matney is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matney
- Kelsa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kelsa is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsa
- Paynesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Paynesville is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Norton City
- Norton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Russell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birchleaf, with the one closest to Birchleaf listed first.
- Dante
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Dante is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dante
- Artrip
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Artrip is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artrip
- Russell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Russell is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Cleveland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cleveland is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Carterton
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Carterton is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carterton
- Jessees Mill
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Jessees Mill is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jessees Mill
- Kiser ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Kiser is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiser
- Bickley Mill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Bickley Mill is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bickley Mill
- Castlewood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Honaker
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dye
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Dye is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dye
- Spring City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Spring City is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring City
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birchleaf, with the one closest to Birchleaf listed first.
- Dungannon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dungannon is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dungannon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Grigbys Store
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Grigbys Store is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grigbys Store
- Nickelsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Tazewell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birchleaf, with the one closest to Birchleaf listed first.
- Red Ash
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Red Ash is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Ash
- Raven
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Raven is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven
- Richlands
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Cedar Bluff
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Claypool Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Claypool Hill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claypool Hill
- Paintlick
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Paintlick is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paintlick
- Steeleburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Steeleburg is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steeleburg
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birchleaf, with the one closest to Birchleaf listed first.
- Holston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Holston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holston
- Brumley Gap
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brumley Gap is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brumley Gap
- Craigs Mill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Craigs Mill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigs Mill
- Wise County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birchleaf, with the one closest to Birchleaf listed first.
- Saint Paul
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Virginia City
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Virginia City is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia City
- Haddonfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Haddonfield is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haddonfield
- Pound
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Dwina
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Dwina is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwina
- Coeburn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Almira
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Almira is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almira
- Wise
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hamilton town
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hamilton town is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton town
- Esserville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Esserville is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esserville
- Blackwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Blackwood is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwood
- Kent Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kent Junction is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent Junction
- Floyd County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birchleaf, with the one closest to Birchleaf listed first.
- Beaver
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Beaver is located in Floyd County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Weeksbury
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Weeksbury is located in Floyd County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weeksbury
- Galveston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Galveston is located in Floyd County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galveston
- Melvin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Melvin is located in Floyd County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
- Teaberry
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Teaberry is located in Floyd County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teaberry
- Wheelwright
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wheelwright is located in Floyd County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelwright
- Population from the 2020 Census: 487 people
- Bypro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Osborn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Osborn is located in Floyd County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborn
- Wheelwright Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wheelwright Junction is located in Floyd County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelwright Junction
- Hi Hat
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Grethel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Grethel is located in Floyd County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grethel
- Knott County (KY)
- Kite
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Kite is located in Knott County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kite
- Letcher County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birchleaf, with the one closest to Birchleaf listed first.
- Burdine
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Burdine is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdine
- Jenkins
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- McRoberts
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- McRoberts is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRoberts
- Cromona
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Cromona is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromona
- Fleming - Neon
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Fleming - Neon is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleming - Neon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
- Hemphill
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hemphill is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
- Hemphill has also been known as:
- Jackhorn
- Neon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Tolliver Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Tolliver Town is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolliver Town
- Whitaker
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Whitaker is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitaker
- Seco
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Seco is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seco
- Millstone
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Millstone is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstone
- Deane
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Deane is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deane
- Pike County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birchleaf, with the one closest to Birchleaf listed first.
- Elkhorn City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ashcamp
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ashcamp is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcamp
- Cedarville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cedarville is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Belcher
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Belcher is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belcher
- Draffin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Draffin is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draffin
- Hellier
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hellier is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hellier
- Lick Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Lick Creek is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Mouthcard
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Mouthcard is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mouthcard
- Lookout
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lookout is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lookout
- Rockhouse
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rockhouse is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockhouse
- Fedscreek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Fedscreek is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fedscreek
- Marrowbone
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Marrowbone is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marrowbone
- McDowell County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birchleaf, with the one closest to Birchleaf listed first.
- Paynesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Paynesville is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Jackson Flats
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Jackson Flats is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
- Height
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Height is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
- Peapatch
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Peapatch is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
- Bradshaw
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Panther
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Panther is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
- Wyoming City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wyoming City is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming City
- Mingo County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birchleaf, with the one closest to Birchleaf listed first.
- Thacker
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Thacker is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thacker
- Blackberry City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Blackberry City is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackberry City
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Birchleaf, see our County-by-County Page for Birchleaf.
Cemeteries Near Birchleaf ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Birchleaf.
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 Birchleaf - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Birchleaf covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Birchleaf, with the one closest to Birchleaf listed first.
- Byers Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Turner Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Farmer Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Edwards Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Counts Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Deel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Turner Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Viers Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- O'Quin Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sunderland Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hay Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hewitt Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (1086 more) ...
- Viers Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Hay Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Deel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
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 Birchleaf in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Birchleaf.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Birchleaf, with the one closest to Birchleaf listed first.
- Colley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Colley is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colley
- Tarpon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Tarpon is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarpon
- Aily
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Aily is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aily
- Bee
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bee is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee
- Stratton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Stratton is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratton
- Bucu
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bucu is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucu
- Judge ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Judge is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judge
- Duty
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Duty is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duty
- Davenport
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Clintwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Ashcamp
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ashcamp is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcamp
- Grundy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Big Rock
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Big Rock is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
- John
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- John is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for John
- Mouthcard
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Mouthcard is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mouthcard
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Birchleaf. See our List of 1890's Communities around Birchleaf.
Newspapers Published in Birchleaf ...
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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Birchleaf.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Birchleaf, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Birchleaf.
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 Birchleaf:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Dickenson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Buchanan County
- Norton City
- Russell County
- Scott County
- Tazewell County
- Washington County
- Wise County
- Floyd County
- Knott County
- Letcher County
- Pike County
- McDowell County
- Mingo County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Virginia
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 Birchleaf, 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- Birchleaf) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |