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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 Banks (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 Banks. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Banks is located in Wake 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 Wake County: Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Harnett, Johnston & Nash.

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

  • Wake County     (The home county of Banks)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Banks, with the one closest to Banks listed first.
    • Macks Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Macks Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macks Village
    • McCullers
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • McCullers is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCullers
    • Fuquay - Varina
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Pleasant
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
    • Hopedale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Hopedale is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopedale
    • Kennebec
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Kennebec is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennebec
    • Garner
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Holly Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Wilbon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Wilbon is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbon
    • Hertford Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Hertford Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hertford Village
    • Auburn
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Auburn is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
    • Indian Trail
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Indian Trail is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Trail
  • Chatham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Banks, with the one closest to Banks listed first.
    • Cary
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Cary is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 173,587 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cary <1>
    • Corinth
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Corinth is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
    • Brickhaven
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Brickhaven is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickhaven
    • Haywood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Haywood is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood
    • Moncure
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Fearrington Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Fearrington Village is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fearrington Village
    • Bynum
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Bynum is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
    • Pittsboro
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Farmville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Banks, with the one closest to Banks listed first.
    • Linden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Godwin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Falcon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Falcon is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falcon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 250 people
  • Durham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Banks, with the one closest to Banks listed first.
    • Morrisville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Nelson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Nelson is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
    • Brassfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Brassfield is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
    • Parkwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Parkwood is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
    • Durham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Gorman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Gorman is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
    • The American Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • The American Village is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The American Village
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Banks, with the one closest to Banks listed first.
    • Wake Forest
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Youngsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Harnett County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Banks, with the one closest to Banks listed first.
    • Angier
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Rawls
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Rawls is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawls
    • Chalybeate Springs
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Chalybeate Springs is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
    • Duncan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Duncan is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
    • Barclaysville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Barclaysville is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclaysville
    • Kipling
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Kipling is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipling
    • Cokesbury
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Cokesbury is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokesbury
    • Buies Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Cape Fear
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Coats
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Coats is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coats
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,520 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coats <1>
    • Lillington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Luart
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Luart is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luart
  • Johnston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Banks, with the one closest to Banks listed first.
    • Willow Springs
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Willow Springs is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
    • Clayton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Archer Lodge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Archer Lodge is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archer Lodge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,322 people
      • Archer Lodge has also been known as:
      • Archer
    • Benson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Wilson's Mills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Wilson's Mills is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson's Mills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,847 people
    • Four Oaks
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • West Smithfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • West Smithfield is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Smithfield
    • Allens Crossroads
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Allens Crossroads is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Crossroads
    • Smithfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Fairfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Fairfield is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
    • Redwood Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Redwood Village is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood Village
    • Selma
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Selma is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,323 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Selma <1>
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Banks, with the one closest to Banks listed first.
    • Broadway
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Edgewater Estates
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Edgewater Estates is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater Estates
    • Osgood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Osgood is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osgood
    • San-Lee Park
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • San-Lee Park is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San-Lee Park
    • Colon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Colon is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colon
    • Carolina Trace
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Carolina Trace is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Trace
    • Jonesboro Heights
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jonesboro Heights is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro Heights
    • Saint Andrews
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Andrews is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrews
    • Sanford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Swann
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Swann is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swann
    • Green Valley Estates
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Cumnock
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Cumnock is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumnock
  • Nash County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Banks, with the one closest to Banks listed first.
    • Rogers Crossroads
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Rogers Crossroads is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers Crossroads
    • Middlesex
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Middlesex is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesex
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 834 people
    • Murraytown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Murraytown is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murraytown
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Banks, with the one closest to Banks listed first.
    • Davie Circle
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Davie Circle is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davie Circle
    • Dogwood Acres
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Dogwood Acres is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood Acres
    • Greenwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Greenwood is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
    • Chapel Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Bolus
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Bolus is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Bolus
    • Summerfield Crossing
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Summerfield Crossing is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield Crossing
    • Tenney Circle
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Tenney Circle is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenney Circle
    • Ashley Forest
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Ashley Forest is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashley Forest
    • Carrboro
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Cedar Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Cedar Hill is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
    • Lake Ellen
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Ellen is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ellen
    • Oak Hills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Oak Hills is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hills
  • Sampson County
    • Plain View
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Plain View is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plain View

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

Cemeteries Near Banks ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Banks.

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

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

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

  • Stephens Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Womack Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Jeridan Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Morgan Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Sorrell Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Willow Spring Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Rand Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Williams Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Aldridge Partin Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Jones Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Greenlawn Memorial Gardens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (227 more) ...

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 Banks had a population of 34 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Garner
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Holly Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Auburn
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Auburn is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
  • Raleigh
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Method
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Method is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Method
  • Apex
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Apex is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apex
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 64,388 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Apex <1>
  • Asbury
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Asbury is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
  • Barclaysville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Barclaysville is located in Harnett County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclaysville
  • Cary
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Cary is located in Chatham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cary
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 173,587 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cary <1>
  • New Hill
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Clayton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Milburnie
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Milburnie is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburnie
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Morrisville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Corinth
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Corinth is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
    • Spilona
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Spilona is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spilona

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

Newspapers Published in Banks ...

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 280 newspapers that have been published in the area around Banks.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Banks, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Banks.

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 helpful 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 Banks:

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Banks) 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 Banks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.