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 Royal City (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 Royal City. 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.
Royal City 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 Royal City. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Royal City:
- Buchanan County (The home county of Royal City)
- The following are listed by their distance from Royal City, with the one closest to Royal City listed first.
- Grundy
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Vansant
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Janey
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Janey is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janey
- Leemaster
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Leemaster is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemaster
- Mavisdale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mavisdale is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mavisdale
- Matney
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Matney is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matney
- Big Rock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Big Rock is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
- Rowe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rowe is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe
- Kelsa
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Kelsa is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsa
- Paynesville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Paynesville is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Council
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Council is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
- Jackson Flats
(13 miles [20.9 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 Royal City, with the one closest to Royal City listed first.
- Haysi
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Bucu
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bucu is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucu
- Tarpon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Tarpon is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarpon
- Aily
(15 miles [24.1 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 southwest)
- Carrie
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Carrie is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrie
- Nora
(18 miles [29 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
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Omaha is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omaha
- Darwin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Darwin is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darwin
- Herald
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Herald is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herald
- Russell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Royal City, with the one closest to Royal City listed first.
- Russell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Russell is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Dye
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dye is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dye
- Honaker
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Artrip
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Artrip is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artrip
- Cleveland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Cleveland is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Dante
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Dante is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dante
- Barnett
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Barnett is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnett
- Kiser ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Kiser is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiser
- Spring City
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Spring City is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring City
- Carterton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Carterton is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carterton
- Jessees Mill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Jessees Mill is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jessees Mill
- Lebanon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Royal City, with the one closest to Royal City listed first.
- Allison Gap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Allison Gap is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allison Gap
- Cardwell Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cardwell Town is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardwell Town
- Tazewell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Royal City, with the one closest to Royal City listed first.
- Red Ash
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Red Ash is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Ash
- Raven
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Raven is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven
- Richlands
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Harman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Harman is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harman
- Cedar Bluff
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Claypool Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Claypool Hill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claypool Hill
- Steeleburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Steeleburg is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steeleburg
- Paintlick
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Paintlick is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paintlick
- Pounding Mill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dunford Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Dunford Village is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunford Village
- Sayersville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Sayersville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayersville
- Maxwell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Maxwell is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Wise County
- The following are listed by their distance from Royal City, with the one closest to Royal City listed first.
- Saint Paul
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Virginia City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Virginia City is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia City
- Dwina
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dwina is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwina
- Haddonfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Haddonfield is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haddonfield
- Coeburn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Almira
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Almira is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almira
- Pound
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Letcher County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Royal City, with the one closest to Royal City listed first.
- Burdine
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Burdine is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdine
- Jenkins
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Pike County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Royal City, with the one closest to Royal City listed first.
- Paw Paw
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Paw Paw is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paw Paw
- Fedscreek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fedscreek is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fedscreek
- Mouthcard
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mouthcard is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mouthcard
- Lick Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lick Creek is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Elkhorn City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Cedarville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Cedarville is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Coleman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Coleman is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
- Belcher
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Belcher is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belcher
- Calloway Branch
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Calloway Branch is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calloway Branch
- Phelps
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Stopover
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Stopover is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stopover
- Draffin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Draffin is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draffin
- McDowell County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Royal City, with the one closest to Royal City listed first.
- Paynesville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Paynesville is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Jackson Flats
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Jackson Flats is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
- Height
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Height is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
- Bradshaw
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Peapatch
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Peapatch is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
- Panther
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Panther is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
- Wyoming City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Wyoming City is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming City
- Avondale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Avondale is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale
- Iaeger
(20 miles [32.2 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
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Union City is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
- Yukon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Yukon is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yukon
- 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
- Mingo County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Royal City, with the one closest to Royal City listed first.
- Wharncliffe
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Thacker
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Thacker is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thacker
- Blackberry City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Blackberry City is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackberry City
- Baisden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Gilbert Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Gilbert Creek is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert Creek
- Matewan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Sprigg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Sprigg is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprigg
- Red Jacket
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Red Jacket is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Jacket
- Musick
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Musick is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Musick
- Pie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Pie is located in Mingo County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pie
- Gilbert
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Williamson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Wyoming County (WV)
- Cub City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cub City is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cub City
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Royal City, see our County-by-County Page for Royal City.
Cemeteries Near Royal City ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Royal City.
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 Royal City - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Royal City covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Royal City, with the one closest to Royal City listed first.
- Looney Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Lynn Fork Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Ratliff Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Cantrell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Looney Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Looney Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Shortridge Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Looney Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Belcher Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Owens Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Monroe Baldwin Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- 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 <2>
- Stiltner Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (938 more) ...
- Fletcher Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Coleman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Baldwin Cemetery
(5 miles [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.<4>
While we didn't find Royal City in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Royal City.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Royal City, with the one closest to Royal City listed first.
- Grundy
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Big Rock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Big Rock is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
- Shack Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Shack Mills is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shack Mills
- Colley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Colley is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colley
- Bee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bee is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee
- Davenport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Duty
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Duty is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duty
- Paw Paw
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Paw Paw is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paw Paw
- Mouthcard
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mouthcard is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mouthcard
- Judge ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Judge is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judge
- Tarpon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Tarpon is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarpon
- Bucu
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bucu is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucu
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Aily
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Aily is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aily
- Coleman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Coleman is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
- Jamboree
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Jamboree is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamboree
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Royal City. See our List of 1890's Communities around Royal City.
Newspapers Published in Royal City ...
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 8 newspapers that have been published in the area around Royal City.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Royal City, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Royal City.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Royal City:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Buchanan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Dickenson County
- Russell County
- Smyth County
- Tazewell County
- Wise County
- Letcher County
- Pike County
- McDowell County
- Mingo County
- Wyoming 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> | 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Royal City) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Royal City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |