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 Balfour (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 Balfour. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Balfour is located in Henderson 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 Henderson County: Buncombe, Haywood, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania & Greenville (SC).
Below are the counties that are near Balfour. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Balfour:
- Henderson County (The home county of Balfour)
- The following are listed by their distance from Balfour, with the one closest to Balfour listed first.
- Pinehurst
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Pinehurst is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinehurst
- Cumberland Village
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Cumberland Village is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Carolina Village
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Carolina Village is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Village
- Mountain Home
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Timberland
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Timberland is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberland
- Hendersonville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Willow Bend
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Willow Bend is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Bend
- Barker Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Barker Heights is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Heights
- Laurel Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sky Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sky Village is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sky Village
- U-No
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- U-No is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for U-No
- Naples
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Naples is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
- Valley Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Valley Hill is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Hill
- Buncombe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Balfour, with the one closest to Balfour listed first.
- Arden
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Royal Pines
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Royal Pines is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Pines
- Busbee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Busbee is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busbee
- Skyland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Avery Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Avery Creek is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery Creek
- Fairview
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Biltmore Forest
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Biltmore Forest is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biltmore Forest
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,431 people
- Bent Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Bent Creek is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
- Shiloh
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Shiloh is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Sayles Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Sayles Village is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayles Village
- Azalea
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Azalea is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azalea
- Redwood Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Redwood Village is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood Village
- Enka Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Enka Village is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enka Village
- Haywood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Balfour, with the one closest to Balfour listed first.
- Cruso
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Cruso is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cruso
- Morning Star
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Morning Star is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morning Star
- Canton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Sonoma ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Sonoma is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
- West Canton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- West Canton is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Canton
- Bethel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Bethel is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Lavinia ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Lavinia is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavinia
- Clyde
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Junaluska
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Waynesville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- McDowell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Balfour, with the one closest to Balfour listed first.
- Dendron
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Dendron is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dendron
- Moffitt Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Moffitt Hill is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt Hill
- Lackey Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lackey Town is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackey Town
- Old Fort
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Greenlee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Greenlee is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Sugar Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sugar Hill is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
- Providence
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Providence is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Balfour, with the one closest to Balfour listed first.
- Melrose
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Melrose is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Lynn
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lynn is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Columbus
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Tryon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mill Spring
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Rutherford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Balfour, with the one closest to Balfour listed first.
- Village of Chimney Rock Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Village of Chimney Rock Village is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village of Chimney Rock Village
- Estimated population in 2015: 108 people
- Chimney Rock
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Lure
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Green Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Green Hill is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Otter Creek ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Otter Creek is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
- Whitehouse
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Whitehouse is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse
- Cuba ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Cuba is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Ruth
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Ruth is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
- Rutherfordton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Shiloh
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Shiloh is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Spindale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Union Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Thermal City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Thermal City is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thermal City
- Transylvania County
- The following are listed by their distance from Balfour, with the one closest to Balfour listed first.
- Penrose
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Seven Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Seven Springs is located in Transylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Springs
- Pisgah Forest
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Brevard
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Mountain
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- East Fork
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- East Fork is located in Transylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Fork
- Rosman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Balsam Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Lake Toxaway
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Toxaway Falls ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Toxaway Falls is located in Transylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toxaway Falls
- Greenville County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Balfour, with the one closest to Balfour listed first.
- Merrittsville ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Merrittsville is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrittsville
- Caesars Head
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Caesars Head is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caesars Head
- Cleveland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Highland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Highland is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
- Tigerville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Slater
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Gowensville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Gowensville is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowensville
- Marietta
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- O'Neal
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- O'Neal is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neal
- Travelers Rest
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Chick Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Chick Springs is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chick Springs
- Taylors
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Pickens County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Balfour, with the one closest to Balfour listed first.
- Knob ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Knob is located in Pickens County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob
- Rocky Bottom
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rocky Bottom is located in Pickens County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Bottom
- Dacusville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Dacusville is located in Pickens County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dacusville
- Spartanburg County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Balfour, with the one closest to Balfour listed first.
- Landrum
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Landrum is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landrum
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,725 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Landrum <1>
- Campobello
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Gramling
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Inman Mills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Inman Mills is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman Mills
- Inman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Inman is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,480 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Inman <1>
- Fingerville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Balfour, see our County-by-County Page for Balfour.
Cemeteries Near Balfour ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Balfour.
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 Balfour - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Balfour covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Balfour, with the one closest to Balfour listed first.
- St. Matthews Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Oakdale Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- McCarson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Forest Lawn Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Seagle Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Love Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Shepherd Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mill Pond Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Patty's Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Mud Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Oakdale Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (293 more) ...
- Fruitland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Beulah Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
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 Balfour in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Balfour.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Balfour, with the one closest to Balfour listed first.
- Hendersonville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Horse Shoe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bowman Bluff
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bowman Bluff is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowman Bluff
- Flat Rock
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Upward
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Upward is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upward
- Fruitland
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Fruitland is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
- Fletcher
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Blue Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Blue Ridge is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Ridge
- Mills River
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Zirconia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Baxter
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Baxter is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Arden
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Penrose
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Busbee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Busbee is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busbee
- Skyland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Balfour. See our List of 1890's Communities around Balfour.
Newspapers Published in Balfour ...
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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Balfour.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Balfour, there are papers which were published within 2 miles [3.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Balfour.
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 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 Balfour:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Henderson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Buncombe County
- Haywood County
- McDowell County
- Polk County
- Rutherford County
- Transylvania County
- Greenville County
- Pickens County
- Spartanburg 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- Balfour) 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 Balfour, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |