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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 Bryans Woods (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 Bryans Woods. 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.

Name Variations for Bryans Woods ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

While the name of this community is Bryans Woods, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Bryans Woods may originally have been Bryan's Woods.

Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Bryans Woods might be written as Bryan Woods.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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.

Bryans Woods is located in Davidson 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 Davidson County: Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Montgomery, Randolph, Rowan & Stanly.

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

  • Davidson County     (The home county of Bryans Woods)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryans Woods, with the one closest to Bryans Woods listed first.
    • Jefferson Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jefferson Village is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Village
    • Welcome
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Holly Grove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Holly Grove is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Grove
    • Lexington
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Currytown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Currytown is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Currytown
    • Midway
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Midway is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,951 people
    • Bethany ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bethany is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
    • Sapona
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Sapona is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sapona
    • Thomasville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Arcadia
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Arcadia is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
    • Reedy Creek
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Reedy Creek is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedy Creek
    • Fair Grove
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Fair Grove is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Grove
    • Cotton Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Cotton Grove is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Grove
  • Cabarrus County
    • Rimer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Rimer is located in Cabarrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rimer
  • Davie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryans Woods, with the one closest to Bryans Woods listed first.
    • Advance
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Bermuda Run
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Clinton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Clinton is located in Davie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
    • Ephesus
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Ephesus is located in Davie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ephesus
    • Cooleemee
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Mocksville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Pino
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Pino is located in Davie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pino
    • Calahaln
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Calahaln is located in Davie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calahaln
  • Forsyth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryans Woods, with the one closest to Bryans Woods listed first.
    • Rosemont
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Rosemont is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont
    • Muddy Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Muddy Creek is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddy Creek
    • Horneytown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Horneytown is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horneytown
    • Waughtown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Waughtown is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waughtown
    • Clemmons
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Ardmore
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Ardmore is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardmore
    • Yorktown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Yorktown is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorktown
    • Cityview
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Cityview is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cityview
    • East Winston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • East Winston is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Winston
    • Sedge Garden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Sedge Garden is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedge Garden
    • Westview
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Westview is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westview
    • Winston - Salem
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Beeson Crossroads
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Beeson Crossroads is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beeson Crossroads
  • Guilford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryans Woods, with the one closest to Bryans Woods listed first.
    • High Point
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Allen Jay
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Allen Jay is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen Jay
    • Sherwood Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Sherwood Village is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood Village
    • Jamestown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Freeman Mill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Freeman Mill is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Mill
    • Sandy Ridge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Sandy Ridge is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
    • Kirkman Crossroad
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Kirkman Crossroad is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman Crossroad
    • Colfax
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Guilford College
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Guilford College is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford College
    • Latham Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Latham Town is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latham Town
    • Oak Ridge
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Pomona
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Pomona is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
    • Pleasant Garden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Iredell County
    • Cool Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Cool Springs is located in Iredell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool Springs
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryans Woods, with the one closest to Bryans Woods listed first.
    • Blaine
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Blaine is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
    • Eldorado
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Eldorado is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
    • Abner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Abner is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abner
    • Ophir
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Ophir is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ophir
  • Randolph County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryans Woods, with the one closest to Bryans Woods listed first.
    • Trinity
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Archdale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • New Market
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • New Market is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
    • Sophia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Mechanic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Mechanic is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanic
    • Randleman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Central Falls
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Central Falls is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Falls
    • Worthville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Worthville is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
    • Asheboro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Millboro
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Millboro is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millboro
    • Cedar Falls
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Cedar Falls is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Falls
    • Eleazer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Eleazer is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eleazer
    • Redcross
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Redcross is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redcross
  • Rowan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryans Woods, with the one closest to Bryans Woods listed first.
    • Trading Ford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Trading Ford is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trading Ford
    • Yadkin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Yadkin is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yadkin
    • Shannon Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Shannon Park is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannon Park
    • Ellis Crossroads
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Ellis Crossroads is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis Crossroads
    • Spencer
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Craven
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Craven is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craven
    • East Spencer
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • East Spencer is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Spencer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
    • Franklin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Franklin is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
    • Mocksville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Mocksville is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mocksville
    • Woodbine
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Woodbine is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine
    • Belmont
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Belmont is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
    • Corbin Hills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Corbin Hills is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corbin Hills
    • Eastwood Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Eastwood Village is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood Village
  • Stanly County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryans Woods, with the one closest to Bryans Woods listed first.
    • Misenheimer
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Misenheimer is located in Stanly County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Misenheimer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 742 people
    • Richfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • New London
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Palmerville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Palmerville is located in Stanly County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmerville
  • Stokes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryans Woods, with the one closest to Bryans Woods listed first.
    • Fulp
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Fulp is located in Stokes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulp
    • Germanton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Walnut Cove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Surry County
    • Boyden ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Boyden is located in Surry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyden
  • Yadkin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryans Woods, with the one closest to Bryans Woods listed first.
    • Huntsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Huntsville is located in Yadkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
    • Wyo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Wyo is located in Yadkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyo
    • Courtney
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Courtney is located in Yadkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Courtney
    • East Bend
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Footville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Footville is located in Yadkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Footville
    • Forbush
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Forbush is located in Yadkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbush
    • Yadkinville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Bryans Woods ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bryans Woods.

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 Bryans Woods - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Pilgrim Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Pilgrim Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Lexington City Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Beulah Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Forest Lawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Rich Fork Baptist Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Emanuel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Johnsontown Methodist Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Mills Home Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Owens Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Becks Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Holly Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (154 more) ...
    • Bethany Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Good Hope Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Bethel Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)

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 Bryans Woods in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bryans Woods.

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

  • Jimes ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jimes is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimes
  • Lexington
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Welcome
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Arnold
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Arnold is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
  • Sapona
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sapona is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sapona
  • Enterprise
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Enterprise is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
  • Bethany ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bethany is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
  • Midway
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Midway is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,951 people
  • Light
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Light is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Light
  • Thomasville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Arcadia
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Arcadia is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
  • Reedy Creek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Reedy Creek is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedy Creek
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Fair Grove
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Fair Grove is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Grove
    • Linwood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Fulton ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Fulton is located in Davie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton

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

Newspapers Published in Bryans Woods ...

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 23 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bryans Woods.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bryans Woods, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bryans Woods.

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 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 Bryans Woods:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<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>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 Bryans Woods, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bryans Woods) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.