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 Deskins (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 Deskins. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Deskins is located in Buchanan 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 Buchanan County: Pike (KY), Dickenson, Russell, Tazewell, McDowell (WV) & Mingo (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Deskins. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Deskins:
- Buchanan County (The home county of Deskins)
- The following are listed by their distance from Deskins, with the one closest to Deskins listed first.
- Leemaster
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Leemaster is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemaster
- Vansant
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Janey
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Janey is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janey
- Mavisdale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mavisdale is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mavisdale
- Rowe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rowe is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe
- Royal City
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Royal City is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal City
- Grundy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Council
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Council is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
- Matney
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Matney is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matney
- Big Rock
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Big Rock is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
- Paynesville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Paynesville is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Jackson Flats
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jackson Flats is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
- Dickenson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Deskins, with the one closest to Deskins listed first.
- Bucu
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bucu is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucu
- Haysi
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Carrie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Carrie is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrie
- Aily
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Aily is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aily
- Clinchco
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Tarpon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Tarpon is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarpon
- Nora
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Nora is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora
- Clintwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Omaha
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Omaha is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omaha
- Herald
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Herald is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herald
- Darwin
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Darwin is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darwin
- Russell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Deskins, with the one closest to Deskins listed first.
- Russell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Russell is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Dye
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dye is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dye
- Honaker
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Artrip
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Artrip is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artrip
- Cleveland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Cleveland is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Barnett
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Barnett is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnett
- Kiser ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Kiser is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiser
- Spring City
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Spring City is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring City
- Dante
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Dante is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dante
- Elk Garden
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Elk Garden is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Garden
- Jessees Mill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Jessees Mill is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jessees Mill
- Lebanon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Deskins, with the one closest to Deskins listed first.
- Allison Gap
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Allison Gap is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allison Gap
- Cardwell Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cardwell Town is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardwell Town
- Saltville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Broadford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Broadford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
- Tazewell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Deskins, with the one closest to Deskins listed first.
- Red Ash
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Red Ash is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Ash
- Raven
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Raven is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven
- Richlands
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Cedar Bluff
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Claypool Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Claypool Hill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claypool Hill
- Steeleburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Steeleburg is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steeleburg
- Harman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Harman is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harman
- Paintlick
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Paintlick is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paintlick
- Pounding Mill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Dunford Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Dunford Village is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunford Village
- Maxwell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Maxwell is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Sayersville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Sayersville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayersville
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Deskins, with the one closest to Deskins listed first.
- Brumley Gap
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Brumley Gap is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brumley Gap
- Holston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Holston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holston
- Lindell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lindell is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindell
- Glenford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Glenford is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenford
- Lowland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Lowland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowland
- Clinchburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Clinchburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinchburg
- 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
- Greendale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Greendale is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale
- Wise County
- The following are listed by their distance from Deskins, with the one closest to Deskins listed first.
- Saint Paul
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Virginia City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Virginia City is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia City
- Dwina
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dwina is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwina
- Coeburn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Haddonfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Haddonfield is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haddonfield
- Pound
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Almira
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Almira is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almira
- Letcher County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Deskins, with the one closest to Deskins listed first.
- Burdine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Burdine is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdine
- Jenkins
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Pike County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Deskins, with the one closest to Deskins listed first.
- Elkhorn City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mouthcard
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mouthcard is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mouthcard
- Paw Paw
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Paw Paw is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paw Paw
- Cedarville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cedarville is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Fedscreek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fedscreek is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fedscreek
- Lick Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Lick Creek is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Belcher
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Belcher is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belcher
- Draffin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Draffin is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draffin
- Ashcamp
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Ashcamp is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcamp
- Coleman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Coleman is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
- Calloway Branch
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Calloway Branch is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calloway Branch
- Hellier
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Hellier is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hellier
- McDowell County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Deskins, with the one closest to Deskins listed first.
- Paynesville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Paynesville is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Jackson Flats
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jackson Flats is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
- Height
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Height is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
- Peapatch
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Peapatch is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
- Bradshaw
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Avondale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Avondale is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale
- Panther
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Panther is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
- War
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- War is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War
- Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
- Iaeger
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Iaeger is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iaeger
- Population from the 2020 Census: 232 people
- Union City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Union City is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
- Yukon
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Yukon is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yukon
- Wyoming City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- 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 Deskins, with the one closest to Deskins listed first.
- Wharncliffe
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Thacker
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Thacker is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thacker
- Baisden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Gilbert Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Gilbert Creek is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert Creek
- 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
- Matewan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Deskins, see our County-by-County Page for Deskins.
Cemeteries Near Deskins ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Deskins.
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 Deskins - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Deskins covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Deskins, with the one closest to Deskins listed first.
- Baldwin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Jackson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Cook Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Lester Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Baldwin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Baldwin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Boyd Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Boyd Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Street Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Coleman Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Looney Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe Baldwin Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe Baldwin Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Monroe Baldwin Cemetery is located outside and to the northeast of Leemaster.
- The Monroe Baldwin Cemetery has also been known as:
- Baldwin Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2584001 <3>
- Continue List (1015 more) ...
- Boyd Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Breeding Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Looney Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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.<4>
While we didn't find Deskins in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Deskins.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Deskins, with the one closest to Deskins listed first.
- Grundy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Bee
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bee is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee
- Davenport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Shack Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Shack Mills is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shack Mills
- Duty
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Duty is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duty
- Colley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Colley is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colley
- Judge ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Judge is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judge
- Bucu
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bucu is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucu
- Honaker
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Aily
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Aily is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aily
- Swords Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Big Rock
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Big Rock is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Doran
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Artrip
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Artrip is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artrip
- Tarpon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Tarpon is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarpon
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Deskins. See our List of 1890's Communities around Deskins.
Newspapers Published in Deskins ...
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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Deskins.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Deskins, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Deskins.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Deskins:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Buchanan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Dickenson County
- Russell County
- Smyth County
- Tazewell County
- Washington County
- Wise 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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Deskins) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Deskins, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |