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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 Barclay Downs (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 Barclay Downs. 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.

Barclay Downs 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 Barclay Downs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Barclay Downs:

  • Wake County     (The home county of Barclay Downs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Barclay Downs, with the one closest to Barclay Downs listed first.
    • Knightdale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Skycrest Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Skycrest Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skycrest Village
    • Timberlake
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Timberlake is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
    • Emerald Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Emerald Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Village
    • Brentwood Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Brentwood Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brentwood Village
    • Shotwell
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Shotwell is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shotwell
    • Millbrook
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Millbrook is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millbrook
    • Auburn
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Auburn is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
    • Garner
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hertford Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Hertford Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hertford Village
    • Raleigh
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Eagle Rock
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Eagle Rock is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Rock
  • Chatham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Barclay Downs, with the one closest to Barclay Downs listed first.
    • Cary
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • 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
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Corinth is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
  • Durham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Barclay Downs, with the one closest to Barclay Downs listed first.
    • Morrisville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Nelson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Nelson is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
    • Brassfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Brassfield is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
    • Parkwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Parkwood is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
    • Gorman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Gorman is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
    • Durham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • 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 Barclay Downs, with the one closest to Barclay Downs listed first.
    • Wake Forest
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Youngsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Sutton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Sutton is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutton
    • Bunn
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Bunn is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 401 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bunn <1>
    • Franklinton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Katesville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Katesville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katesville
    • Louisburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Mapleville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Mapleville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleville
    • Ingleside
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Ingleside is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
  • Granville County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Barclay Downs, with the one closest to Barclay Downs listed first.
    • Creedmoor
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Mount Energy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Mount Energy is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Energy
    • Wilton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Wilton is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
    • Hester
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Hester is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hester
    • Butner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Lyons
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Lyons is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
    • Tar River
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Tar River is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tar River
    • Fairport
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Fairport is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairport
    • Stem
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Stem is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stem
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 474 people
  • Harnett County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Barclay Downs, with the one closest to Barclay Downs listed first.
    • Angier
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Barclaysville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Barclaysville is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclaysville
    • Rawls
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Rawls is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawls
    • Chalybeate Springs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Chalybeate Springs is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
    • Duncan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Duncan is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
    • Kipling
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Kipling is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipling
    • Coats
      (27 miles [43.5 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>
    • Cokesbury
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Cokesbury is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokesbury
    • Buies Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Turlington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Turlington is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turlington
    • Cape Fear
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lillington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Johnston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Barclay Downs, with the one closest to Barclay Downs listed first.
    • Archer Lodge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Clayton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Willow Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Willow Springs is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
    • Wilson's Mills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Stancils Chapel
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Stancils Chapel is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stancils Chapel
    • West Smithfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • West Smithfield is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Smithfield
    • Fairfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairfield is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
    • Smithfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Redwood Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Redwood Village is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood Village
    • Selma
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • Four Oaks
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Micro
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Micro is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
  • Nash County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Barclay Downs, with the one closest to Barclay Downs listed first.
    • Murraytown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Murraytown is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murraytown
    • Rogers Crossroads
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Rogers Crossroads is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers Crossroads
    • Middlesex
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Middlesex is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesex
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 834 people
    • Rocky Cross
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Rocky Cross is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Cross
    • Union Hope
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Union Hope is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hope
    • Samaria
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Samaria is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
    • Gold Valley Crossroads
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Bailey
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Frazier Crossroads
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Frazier Crossroads is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Crossroads
    • Mount Pleasant
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
    • Floods Chapel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Floods Chapel is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floods Chapel
    • Stanhope
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Stanhope is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanhope
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Barclay Downs, with the one closest to Barclay Downs listed first.
    • Davie Circle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Davie Circle is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davie Circle
    • Greenwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Greenwood is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
    • Summerfield Crossing
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Summerfield Crossing is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield Crossing
    • Cedar Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Cedar Hill is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
    • Oak Hills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Oak Hills is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hills
    • Chapel Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Mount Bolus
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Mount Bolus is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Bolus
    • Tenney Circle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Tenney Circle is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenney Circle
  • Vance County
    • Kittrell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Wilson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Barclay Downs, with the one closest to Barclay Downs listed first.
    • Sims
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Scotts
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Scotts is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts
    • Lucama
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Barclay Downs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Barclay Downs.

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 Barclay Downs - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Bagwell Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Bethlehem Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Raleigh National Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Carolina Biblical Gardens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hilliard Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Doub Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Montlawn Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (193 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.<3>

While we didn't find Barclay Downs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Barclay Downs.

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

  • Milburnie
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Milburnie is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburnie
  • Shotwell
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Shotwell is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shotwell
  • Garner
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Auburn
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Auburn is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
  • Millbrook
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Millbrook is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millbrook
  • Raleigh
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Eagle Rock
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Eagle Rock is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Rock
  • Neuse
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Six Forks
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Six Forks is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Six Forks
  • Wendell
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Method
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Method is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Method
  • Clayton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Archer Lodge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Wyatt
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Wyatt is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
    • Rolesville
      (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 Barclay Downs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Barclay Downs.

Newspapers Published in Barclay Downs ...

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 278 newspapers that have been published in the area around Barclay Downs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Barclay Downs, there are papers which were published within 6 miles [9.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Barclay Downs.

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 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 Barclay Downs:

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>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 Barclay Downs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Barclay Downs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.