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 Canto (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 Canto. 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.
Canto is primarily located in Buncombe County. A portion of Canto extends into Madison 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 Buncombe County: Haywood, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Rutherford, Transylvania & Yancey.
Below are the counties that are near Canto. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Canto:
- Buncombe County (The home county of Canto)
- The following are listed by their distance from Canto, with the one closest to Canto listed first.
- Sandymush
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sandymush is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandymush
- Sandymush has also been known as:
- Sandy Mush
- Leicester
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Alexander
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Newfound
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Newfound is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newfound
- Stoney Knob
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Stoney Knob is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Knob
- Woodfin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Weaverville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Acton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Acton is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
- Emma
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Emma is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emma
- Flat Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Flat Creek is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Creek
- Candler
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Enka Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Enka Village is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enka Village
- Enka
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Haywood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Canto, with the one closest to Canto listed first.
- Canton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- West Canton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Canton is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Canton
- Morning Star
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Morning Star is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morning Star
- Teague ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Teague is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teague
- Clyde
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Junaluska
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bethel
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bethel is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Sonoma ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sonoma is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
- Cruso
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Cruso is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cruso
- Waynesville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Sterling
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Mount Sterling is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling
- Lavinia ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lavinia is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavinia
- Hazelwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hazelwood is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Canto, with the one closest to Canto listed first.
- Fletcher
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Mills River
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Naples
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Naples is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
- Holly Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Holly Springs is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Gerton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Horse Shoe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Home
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Etowah
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Balfour
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Balfour is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balfour
- Bearwallow
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bearwallow is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Cumberland Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cumberland Village is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Pinehurst
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pinehurst is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinehurst
- Sky Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sky Village is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sky Village
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Canto, with the one closest to Canto listed first.
- Balsam
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Addie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Addie is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addie
- Ruby City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ruby City is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby City
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Canto, with the one closest to Canto listed first.
- Marshall
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Trust
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Trust is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
- Rollins
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rollins is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollins
- Spring Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Creek is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
- Walnut
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Walnut is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Bluff
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bluff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff
- Lynch ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lynch is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch
- Petersburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Petersburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Stackhouse
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Stackhouse is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stackhouse
- Hot Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Hurricane
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Hurricane is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurricane
- Mars Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ivy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ivy is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy
- McDowell County
- Dendron
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Dendron is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dendron
- Transylvania County
- Penrose
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Yancey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Canto, with the one closest to Canto listed first.
- Murchison
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Murchison is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murchison
- Pensacola
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Pensacola is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pensacola
- Concord
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Concord is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Higgins
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Higgins is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higgins
- Low Gap
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Low Gap is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Burnsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ramseytown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ramseytown is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramseytown
- Cocke County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Canto, with the one closest to Canto listed first.
- Tom Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Tom Town is located in Cocke County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tom Town
- Nough
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Nough is located in Cocke County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nough
- Wolf Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Wolf Creek is located in Cocke County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Creek
- Naillon ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Naillon is located in Cocke County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naillon
- Del Rio
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hartford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- West Myers
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- West Myers is located in Cocke County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Myers
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,282 people
- Wilton Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wilton Springs is located in Cocke County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton Springs
- Bridgeport
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bridgeport is located in Cocke County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
- Edwina
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Edwina is located in Cocke County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwina
- Parrottsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cosby
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Jimtown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jimtown is located in Cocke County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown
- Greene County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Canto, with the one closest to Canto listed first.
- Cedar Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Cedar Creek is located in Greene County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
- Sirenburg ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sirenburg is located in Greene County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sirenburg
- Camp Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Camp Creek is located in Greene County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Creek
- Water Fork Mill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Water Fork Mill is located in Greene County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Fork Mill
- Estimated population in 2014: 445 people
- Bright Hope
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bright Hope is located in Greene County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Hope
- Henshaw ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Henshaw is located in Greene County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henshaw
- Estimated population in 2014: 470 people
- Unicoi County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Canto, with the one closest to Canto listed first.
- Flag Pond
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Flag Pond is located in Unicoi County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flag Pond
- Clear Branch
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Branch is located in Unicoi County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Branch
- Former name for Clear Branch:
- Kittyton
- Loganton ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Loganton is located in Unicoi County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganton
- Ernestville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ernestville is located in Unicoi County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ernestville
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,311 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Canto, see our County-by-County Page for Canto.
Cemeteries Near Canto ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Canto.
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 Canto - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Canto covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Canto, with the one closest to Canto listed first.
- Teague Chapel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teague Chapel Cemetery
- The Teague Chapel Cemetery has also been known as:
- Teague's Chapel Cemetery
- Little Sandy Mush Methodist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Piney Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cross Rock Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Payne Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Buckner Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Redmon Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Robeson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- The Robeson Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robeson Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Robeson Cemetery is located 16 miles [25.7 km]<3> to the west of Asheville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2414765 <2>
- Freeman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Roberts Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Payne Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Lunceford Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (478 more) ...
- Payne Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Ball Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Dry Pond Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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 in 1895, Canto had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Canto, with the one closest to Canto listed first.
- Sandymush
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sandymush is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandymush
- Sandymush has also been known as:
- Sandy Mush
- Leicester
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Newfound
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Newfound is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newfound
- Big Pine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Big Pine is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Pine
- Alexander
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Juno
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Juno is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juno
- Marshall
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rollins
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rollins is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollins
- Spring Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Creek is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
- Barnard
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Barnard is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnard
- Jupiter
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jupiter is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jupiter
- Bluff
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bluff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Lynch ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lynch is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch
- Fines Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Fines Creek is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fines Creek
- Turnpike
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Turnpike is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnpike
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Canto. See our List of 1890's Communities around Canto.
Newspapers Published in Canto ...
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 87 newspapers that have been published in the area around Canto.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Canto, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Canto.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Canto:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Buncombe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Haywood County
- Henderson County
- Jackson County
- Madison County
- McDowell County
- Transylvania County
- Yancey County
- Cocke County
- Greene County
- Unicoi 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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Canto) 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 Canto, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |