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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 Abingdon (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 Abingdon. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Abingdon is located in Caldwell County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Caldwell County: Alexander, Burke, Catawba, Watauga & Wilkes.

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

  • Caldwell County     (The home county of Abingdon)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Abingdon, with the one closest to Abingdon listed first.
    • Lenoir
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Gamewell
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Pinehurst
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Pinehurst is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinehurst
    • Collettsville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Cajah's Mountain
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Cajah's Mountain is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cajah's Mountain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,728 people
    • Adako
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Patterson
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Rufus
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Muttenz ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Muttenz is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muttenz
    • Baton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Hudson
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Cedar Rock
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Cedar Rock is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Rock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
      • Cedar Rock has also been known as:
      • Cedar Rock village
    • Emanuel ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Emanuel is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emanuel
  • Alexander County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Abingdon, with the one closest to Abingdon listed first.
    • Little River
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Little River is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River
    • Bethlehem
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Bethlehem is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
    • Ellendale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Liledoun
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Liledoun is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liledoun
    • Taylorsville Beach
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Taylorsville Beach is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorsville Beach
    • Isenhour Park
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Isenhour Park is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isenhour Park
    • Millersville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Millersville is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersville
    • Taylorsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Fairview Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Fairview Park is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Park
    • Midway
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Midway is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
    • Rocky Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Rocky Springs is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Springs
    • Hiddenite
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Vashti
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Ashe County
  • Avery County
  • Burke County
  • Catawba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Abingdon, with the one closest to Abingdon listed first.
    • Long View
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Long View is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long View
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,951 people
    • North Hickory
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • North Hickory is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hickory
    • Hickory
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Viewmont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Viewmont is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viewmont
    • Advent Crossroads
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Brookford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Brookford is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 381 people
    • Meadow Brook Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Meadow Brook Village is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Brook Village
    • Mountain View
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Mountain View is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
    • Saint Stephens
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Saint Stephens is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Stephens
    • Sweetwater
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Sweetwater is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetwater
    • Cooksville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Cooksville is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooksville
    • Fairbrook
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairbrook is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbrook
    • Fairgrove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairgrove is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairgrove
  • Cleveland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Abingdon, with the one closest to Abingdon listed first.
    • Olive Grove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Olive Grove is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olive Grove
    • Toluca
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Toluca is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toluca
    • Casar
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Knob Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Cleveland Mills ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Cleveland Mills is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland Mills
    • Belwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Belwood is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 963 people
    • Delight
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Iredell County
    • Brevard ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Brevard is located in Iredell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brevard
  • Lincoln County
  • McDowell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Abingdon, with the one closest to Abingdon listed first.
    • Ashford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Nebo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Patten
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Marion
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Mountain Home ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Mountain Home is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
    • Little Switzerland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Glenwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Glenwood is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
    • West Marion
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • West Marion is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Marion
  • Mitchell County
  • Watauga County
  • Wilkes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Abingdon, with the one closest to Abingdon listed first.
    • Ferguson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Hendrix ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Hendrix is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrix
    • Maple Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Maple Springs is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Springs
    • Boomer
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Boomer is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boomer
    • Mount Pleasant
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
    • Purlear
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Purlear is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purlear
    • Adley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Moravian Falls
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Millers Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Stokes ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Stokes is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokes
    • Cricket
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Cricket is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cricket
    • Wilbar
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Wilkesboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Abingdon ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Abingdon.

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

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

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

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

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

  • Gamewell
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Lenoir
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Hartland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Hartland is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
  • Collettsville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Hibriten ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Hibriten is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hibriten
  • Muttenz ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Muttenz is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muttenz
  • Patterson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Chesterfield
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Baton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Hudson
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Perkinsville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Perkinsville is located in Burke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkinsville
  • Emanuel ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Emanuel is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emanuel
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Worry
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Worry is located in Burke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worry
    • Sawmills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Sawmills is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawmills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,156 people
    • Cedar Valley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Cedar Valley is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Valley

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

Newspapers Published in Abingdon ...

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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Abingdon.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Abingdon, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Abingdon.

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 Abingdon:

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 '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- Abingdon) 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 Abingdon, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.