Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Bryan. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Bryan to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Bryan, please Contact Us.
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 Bryan (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 Bryan. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
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 south 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Bryan is historic, it would have been located within present day 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 Bryan. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bryan:
- Wilkes County (The home county of Bryan)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bryan, with the one closest to Bryan listed first.
- Brier Creek ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Brier Creek is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brier Creek
- Roaring River
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Roaring River is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaring River
- Ronda
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Hays
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Fletcher ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Fletcher is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
- Fairplains
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Fairplains is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplains
- Henderson ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Henderson is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson
- Clingman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Clingman is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clingman
- North Wilkesboro
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lomax
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Lomax is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomax
- Wilkesboro
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cricket
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Cricket is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cricket
- Alexander County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bryan, with the one closest to Bryan listed first.
- Vashti
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Vashti is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vashti
- Rocky Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Rocky Springs is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Springs
- Hiddenite
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Midway
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Midway is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Taylorsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Fairview Park
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Fairview Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Park
- Ellendale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ellendale is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Liledoun
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Liledoun is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liledoun
- Stony Point
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Stony Point is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
- Isenhour Park
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Isenhour Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isenhour Park
- Millersville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Millersville is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersville
- Little River
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Little River is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bryan, with the one closest to Bryan listed first.
- Roaring Gap
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Glade Valley
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Laurel Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hooker
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Sparta
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Ennice
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Scottville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Amelia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Edmonds
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Edmonds is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
- Topia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Topia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
- Piney Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ashe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bryan, with the one closest to Bryan listed first.
- Transou
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Transou is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transou
- Obids
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Obids is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obids
- Glendale Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wagoner
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Wagoner is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagoner
- Yates
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Yates is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates
- Orion
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Orion is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
- Fleetwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Crumpler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- West Jefferson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Brownwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Brownwood is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownwood
- Weavers Ford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Weavers Ford is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weavers Ford
- Caldwell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bryan, with the one closest to Bryan listed first.
- Kings Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Kings Creek is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Creek
- Cilley ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cilley is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cilley
- Draco
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Draco is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draco
- Cedar Rock
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- 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
- Downsville ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Downsville is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downsville
- Emanuel ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Emanuel is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emanuel
- Catawba County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bryan, with the one closest to Bryan listed first.
- Catfish
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Catfish is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catfish
- Oxford Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Oxford Park is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford Park
- Sunrise Beach
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Sunrise Beach is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Beach
- Davie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bryan, with the one closest to Bryan listed first.
- Calahaln
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Calahaln is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calahaln
- Pino
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pino is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pino
- Iredell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bryan, with the one closest to Bryan listed first.
- New Hope ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- New Hope is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Love Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Union Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Houstonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Houstonville is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houstonville
- Olin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Olin is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olin
- Harmony
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Turnersburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Turnersburg is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnersburg
- Brevard ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Brevard is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brevard
- Scotts
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Scotts is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts
- Statesville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Cool Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cool Springs is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool Springs
- Surry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bryan, with the one closest to Bryan listed first.
- Elkin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Elkin Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Elkin Valley is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkin Valley
- State Road
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Thurmond
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mountain Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mountain Park is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Park
- Mulberry
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mulberry is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Devotion
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Devotion is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devotion
- Rusk ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rusk is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rusk
- Zephyr
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Zephyr is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zephyr
- Fairview
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Fairview is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Rockford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Rockford is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockford
- Dobson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Watauga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bryan, with the one closest to Bryan listed first.
- Stony Fork
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Stony Fork is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Fork
- Deep Gap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Laxon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Laxon is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laxon
- Rutherwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Rutherwood is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherwood
- Yadkin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bryan, with the one closest to Bryan listed first.
- Swan Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Swan Creek is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Creek
- Jonesville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Arlington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Arlington is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Cycle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Cycle is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cycle
- Marler
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Marler is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marler
- Rena
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Rena is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rena
- Windsors Crossroads
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Windsors Crossroads is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsors Crossroads
- Branon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Branon is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branon
- Hamptonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Boonville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Nebo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Nebo is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebo
- Footville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Footville is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Footville
- Grayson County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bryan, with the one closest to Bryan listed first.
- Low Gap
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Low Gap is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Baywood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Baywood is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
- Independence
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bryan, see our County-by-County Page for Bryan.
Cemeteries Near Bryan ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bryan.
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 Bryan - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bryan covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bryan, with the one closest to Bryan listed first.
- Long Bottom Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Old Brier Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mt. Sinai Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mountain Park Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- 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 east of Wilkesboro.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #48172 <3>
- Hunting Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mountlawn Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Union Tarheel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Cherry Grove Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Swan Creek Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Knobs Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Old Bethany Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Continue List (203 more) ...
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Mountain Grove Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
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.
While we didn't find Bryan in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bryan.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bryan, with the one closest to Bryan listed first.
- Dellaplane
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Dellaplane is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellaplane
- Brier Creek ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Brier Creek is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brier Creek
- Ronda
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Fairplains
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Fairplains is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplains
- Hunting Creek ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hunting Creek is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunting Creek
- Clingman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Clingman is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clingman
- Wilkesboro
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dockery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Dockery is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dockery
- Lomax
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Lomax is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomax
- Cricket
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Cricket is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cricket
- Zimmerman ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Zimmerman is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerman
- Dehart
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Dehart is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dehart
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Hay Meadow ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hay Meadow is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay Meadow
- Mulberry
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Mulberry is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- New Castle ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Castle is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Castle
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bryan. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bryan.
Newspapers Published in Bryan ...
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 Bryan.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bryan, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bryan.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Bryan:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Wilkes County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alexander County
- Alleghany County
- Ashe County
- Caldwell County
- Catawba County
- Davie County
- Iredell County
- Surry County
- Watauga County
- Yadkin County
- Grayson County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for North Carolina
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Bryan, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Bryan) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |