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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 Dryden (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 Dryden. 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 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.

Dryden is located in Lee 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 Lee County: Bell (KY), Harlan (KY), Claiborne (TN), Hancock (TN), Scott & Wise.

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

  • Lee County     (The home county of Dryden)
  • Norton City
    • Norton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Scott County
  • Wise County
  • Harlan County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dryden, with the one closest to Dryden listed first.
    • Holmes Mill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Holmes Mill is located in Harlan County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmes Mill
    • Dizney
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Closplint
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Closplint is located in Harlan County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Closplint
    • Benham
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • 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>
    • Kenvir
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Kenvir is located in Harlan County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenvir
    • Louellen
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Cranks
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Lynch
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Redbud
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Short Town
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Short Town is located in Harlan County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Town
    • Chad
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Cumberland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Knott County (KY)
  • Leslie County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dryden, with the one closest to Dryden listed first.
    • Yeaddiss
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Yeaddiss is located in Leslie County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yeaddiss
    • Chappell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Cutshin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Helton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Helton is located in Leslie County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helton
    • Mozelle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Warbranch
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Warbranch is located in Leslie County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warbranch
  • Letcher County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dryden, with the one closest to Dryden listed first.
    • Gordon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Gordon is located in Letcher County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
    • Partridge
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Partridge is located in Letcher County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Partridge
    • Linefork
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Flint
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Kings Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Oven Fork
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Eolia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Eolia is located in Letcher County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eolia
    • Hallie
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Roxana
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Roxana is located in Letcher County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxana
    • Uz
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Hot Spot
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • West Whitesburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Perry County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dryden, with the one closest to Dryden listed first.
    • Delphia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Delphia is located in Perry County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delphia
    • Slemp
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Slemp is located in Perry County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slemp
    • Cornettsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Cornettsville is located in Perry County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornettsville
    • Happy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Happy is located in Perry County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy
    • Scuddy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Vicco
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Vicco is located in Perry County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vicco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 295 people
    • Viper
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Viper is located in Perry County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viper
  • Hancock County (TN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dryden, with the one closest to Dryden listed first.
    • Willis
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Willis is located in Hancock County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willis
      • Estimated population in 2014: 387 people
    • Kyles Ford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Sneedville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Trent Valley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Trent Valley is located in Hancock County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trent Valley
      • Estimated population in 2014: 4,157 people
    • Duck Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Alanthus Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Alanthus Hill is located in Hancock County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alanthus Hill
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,498 people
    • Yount Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Xenophon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Xenophon is located in Hancock County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Xenophon
  • Hawkins County (TN)
  • Sullivan County (TN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dryden, with the one closest to Dryden listed first.
    • Beartown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Morrison City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Morrison City is located in Sullivan County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison City
    • Blair Gap
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Blair Gap is located in Sullivan County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair Gap
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,870 people
    • Cherokee Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Cherokee Village is located in Sullivan County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Village
    • Borden Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Borden Village is located in Sullivan County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Village
    • Horace ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Horace is located in Sullivan County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horace
    • Kingsport
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Bloomingdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Beechwood Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Beechwood Village is located in Sullivan County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood Village
    • Orebank
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Washington County (TN)

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

Cemeteries Near Dryden ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dryden.

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

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

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

  • Powell Valley Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Ely Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Huff Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Baker Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Parsons Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Hughes Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Peters Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Anderson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Parsons Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Odd Fellows Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Miles Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Lawson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (1067 more) ...
    • McKinley Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Reasor Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Coldiron Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Dryden had a population of 6 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

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

Newspapers Published in Dryden ...

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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dryden.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dryden, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dryden.

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 Dryden:

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