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 Austin (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 Austin. 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.
Austin is located in Wilkes 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 Wilkes County: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Caldwell, Iredell, Surry, Watauga & Yadkin.
Below are the counties that are near Austin. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Austin:
- Wilkes County (The home county of Austin)
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Lomax
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lomax is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomax
- Traphill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Zebra ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Zebra is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zebra
- Pleasant Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Moxley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Moxley is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moxley
- Ronda
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Roaring River
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Roaring River is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaring River
- Abshers
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Abshers is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abshers
- Dehart
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Dehart is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dehart
- Brier Creek ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Brier Creek is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brier Creek
- Hays
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Clingman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Clingman is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clingman
- Springfield ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Springfield is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Alexander County
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Vashti
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Vashti is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vashti
- Rocky Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Rocky Springs is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Springs
- Hiddenite
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Midway
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Midway is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Taylorsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Roaring Gap
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Glade Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hooker
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Sparta
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ennice
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Edmonds
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Edmonds is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
- Laurel Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Amelia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Scottville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Piney Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Topia
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Topia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
- Ashe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Transou
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Transou is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transou
- Glendale Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Obids
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Obids is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obids
- Wagoner
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Wagoner is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagoner
- Orion
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Orion is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
- Crumpler
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Weavers Ford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Weavers Ford is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weavers Ford
- Yates
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Yates is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates
- Grassy Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- West Jefferson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Fleetwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Davie County
- Pino
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pino is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pino
- Forsyth County
- Heritage Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Heritage Village is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Village
- Iredell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- New Hope ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- New Hope is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Union Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Love Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Houstonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Houstonville is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houstonville
- Olin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Olin is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olin
- Harmony
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Turnersburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Turnersburg is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnersburg
- Stokes County
- Pinnacle
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Surry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Thurmond
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- State Road
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mountain Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mountain Park is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Park
- Elkin Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Elkin Valley is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkin Valley
- Devotion
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Devotion is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devotion
- Elkin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mulberry
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Mulberry is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Zephyr
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Zephyr is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zephyr
- Rusk ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Rusk is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rusk
- Fairview
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Fairview is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Dobson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Low Gap
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Round Peak
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Round Peak is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Peak
- Watauga County
- Stony Fork
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Stony Fork is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Fork
- Yadkin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Jonesville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Arlington
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Arlington is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Swan Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Swan Creek is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Creek
- Rena
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Rena is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rena
- Cycle
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cycle is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cycle
- Boonville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Marler
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Marler is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marler
- Nebo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Nebo is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebo
- Branon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Branon is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branon
- Hamptonville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Windsors Crossroads
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Windsors Crossroads is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsors Crossroads
- Mount Pleasant
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Richmond Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Richmond Hill is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Hill
- Carroll County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Lambsburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pipers Gap
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
- Drenn
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Drenn is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
- Cana
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Woodlawn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Fancy Gap
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Galax City (VA)
- Galax
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Grayson County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Low Gap
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Low Gap is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Baywood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Baywood is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
- Independence
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bridle Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Fries
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Mouth-of-Wilson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Elk Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Austin, see our County-by-County Page for Austin.
Cemeteries Near Austin ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Austin.
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 Austin - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Austin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Knobs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Center Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Roaring Gap Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- State Road Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Johnson Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson Family Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Johnson Family Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the west of Traphill.
- The Johnson Family Cemetery has also been known as:
- Old Johnson Family Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2188960 <2>
- Grassy Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Walker Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Woodruff Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Mountain Park Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Park Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mountain Park Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Mountain Park.
- The Mountain Park Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mountain Park Baptist Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2197374 <2>
- Union Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Long Bottom Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Continue List (366 more) ...
- Old Brier Creek Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Cherry Lane Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Thompson Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Austin had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
- Lomax
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lomax is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomax
- Traphill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Benham
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Benham is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benham
- Dockery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Dockery is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dockery
- Joynes
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Joynes is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joynes
- State Road
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ronda
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Elkin Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Elkin Valley is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkin Valley
- Dehart
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Dehart is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dehart
- Cherry Lane
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Cherry Lane is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Lane
- Elkin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Devotion
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Devotion is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devotion
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Brier Creek ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Brier Creek is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brier Creek
- Jonesville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Dellaplane
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Dellaplane is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellaplane
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Austin. See our List of 1890's Communities around Austin.
Newspapers Published in Austin ...
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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Austin.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Austin, 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 Austin.
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 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 Austin:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Wilkes County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alexander County
- Alleghany County
- Ashe County
- Davie County
- Forsyth County
- Iredell County
- Stokes County
- Surry County
- Watauga County
- Yadkin County
- Carroll County
- Galax City
- Grayson County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for North Carolina
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 from Point A (ie- Austin) 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 Austin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |