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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 Catfish (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 Catfish. 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 and hospitals 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.

Catfish is located in Catawba 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 Catawba County: Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, Cleveland, Iredell & Lincoln.

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

  • Catawba County     (The home county of Catfish)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Catfish, with the one closest to Catfish listed first.
    • Sunrise Beach
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Sunrise Beach is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Beach
    • Claremont
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Oxford Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Oxford Park is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford Park
    • Catawba
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Murrays Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Murrays Hill is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murrays Hill
    • Witherspoon Crossroad
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Conover
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bandy
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Long Island
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Long Island is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Island
    • Newton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairgrove
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Fairgrove is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairgrove
    • Saint Stephens
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Saint Stephens is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Stephens
  • Alexander County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Catfish, with the one closest to Catfish listed first.
    • Taylorsville Beach
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Taylorsville Beach is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorsville Beach
    • Millersville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Millersville is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersville
    • Fairview Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Fairview Park is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Park
    • Stony Point
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Isenhour Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Isenhour Park is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isenhour Park
    • Hiddenite
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Midway
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Midway is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
    • Bethlehem
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Bethlehem is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
    • Liledoun
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Liledoun is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liledoun
    • Taylorsville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Rocky Springs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Rocky Springs is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Springs
    • Ellendale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Burke County
  • Cabarrus County
    • Tulin ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Tulin is located in Cabarrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulin
  • Caldwell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Catfish, with the one closest to Catfish listed first.
    • Concord ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Concord is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Northlakes
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Northlakes is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northlakes
    • Downsville ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Downsville is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downsville
    • Granite Falls
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Draco
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Sawmills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Sawmills is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawmills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,156 people
    • Hudson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Kings Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Cedar Rock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
    • Emanuel ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Emanuel is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emanuel
    • Baton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Cajah's Mountain
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Cajah's Mountain is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cajah's Mountain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,728 people
  • Cleveland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Catfish, with the one closest to Catfish listed first.
    • Toluca
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Toluca is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toluca
    • Belwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Belwood is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 963 people
    • Knob Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Olive Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Olive Grove is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olive Grove
  • Davie County
  • Gaston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Catfish, with the one closest to Catfish listed first.
    • Alexis
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • High Shoals
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • High Shoals is located in Gaston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Shoals
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 757 people
    • Lucia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Stanley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Cherryville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Dallas
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Spencer Mountain
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Spencer Mountain is located in Gaston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer Mountain
      • Estimated population in 2016: 36 people
    • Tryon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Woodland ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Woodland is located in Gaston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
    • Dellview
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Dellview is located in Gaston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellview
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 13 people
  • Iredell County
  • Lincoln County
  • Mecklenburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Catfish, with the one closest to Catfish listed first.
    • River View ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • River View is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River View
    • Cornelius
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Davidson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Huntersville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Rowan County
  • Wilkes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Catfish, with the one closest to Catfish listed first.
    • Boomer
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Boomer is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boomer
    • Moravian Falls
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Zimmerman ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Zimmerman is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerman
    • Adley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Ferguson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Fletcher ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Fletcher is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
    • Stokes ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Stokes is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokes
    • Wilkesboro
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • New Castle ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • New Castle is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Castle
    • Henderson ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Henderson is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson
    • North Wilkesboro
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Cricket
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Cricket is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cricket
  • Yadkin County

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

Cemeteries Near Catfish ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Catfish.

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

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

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

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, Catfish had a post office and no railroad service.

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

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

Newspapers Published in Catfish ...

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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Catfish.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Catfish, 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 Catfish.

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 Catfish:

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- Catfish) 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 Catfish, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.