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 Colfax (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 Colfax. 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 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.
Colfax is located in Guilford 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 Guilford County: Alamance, Caswell, Davidson, Forsyth, Randolph, Rockingham & Stokes.
Below are the counties that are near Colfax. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Colfax:
- Guilford County (The home county of Colfax)
- The following are listed by their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Sandy Ridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sandy Ridge is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
- Oak Ridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Guilford College
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Guilford College is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford College
- Stokesdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Summerfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Pomona
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Pomona is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
- Jamestown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Fairfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Fairfield is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
- High Point
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Latham Town
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Latham Town is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latham Town
- Sherwood Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Sherwood Village is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood Village
- Greensboro
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Alamance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Glenwood Acres
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Glenwood Acres is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Acres
- Random Hills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Random Hills is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Random Hills
- Westbrook Forest
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Westbrook Forest is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Forest
- Westbrook
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Westbrook is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook
- Westview
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Westview is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westview
- Altamahaw
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Altamahaw is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamahaw
- Country Club Acres
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Country Club Acres is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Acres
- The Country
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- The Country is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Country
- Deerfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Deerfield is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
- Elon College
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Elon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Elon is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,186 people
- Kimesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Kimesville is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimesville
- Davidson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Abotts Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Abotts Creek is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abotts Creek
- Wallburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bethany ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bethany is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
- Gum Tree
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Gum Tree is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Tree
- Midway
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Midway is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,951 people
- Thomasville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Fair Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Fair Grove is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Grove
- Eden ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Eden is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Welcome
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Arcadia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Arcadia is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Holly Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Holly Grove is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Grove
- Jefferson Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson Village is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Village
- Davie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Bermuda Run
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Advance
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Forsyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Applegate
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Applegate is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Applegate
- Benefit ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Benefit is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benefit
- Cliffwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cliffwood is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffwood
- Emorywood Estates
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Emorywood Estates is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emorywood Estates
- Kimberly Acres
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Kimberly Acres is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimberly Acres
- Yorktown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Yorktown is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorktown
- Christy Acres
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Christy Acres is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christy Acres
- Kernersville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bonanza Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Bonanza Hills is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonanza Hills
- Greystone Forest
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Greystone Forest is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greystone Forest
- Beeson Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Beeson Crossroads is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beeson Crossroads
- High Meadows
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- High Meadows is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Meadows
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Archdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Trinity
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- New Market
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- New Market is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
- Sophia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Randleman
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Redcross
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Redcross is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redcross
- Worthville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Worthville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
- Millboro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Millboro is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millboro
- Central Falls
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Central Falls is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Falls
- Melanchton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Melanchton is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melanchton
- Cedar Falls
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Falls is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Falls
- Asheboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Rockingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Gold Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Gold Hill is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Hill
- Wittys Crossroads
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wittys Crossroads is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittys Crossroads
- Ellisboro
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Ellisboro is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellisboro
- Madison
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Mayodan
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Belmont
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Belmont is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Norwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Norwood is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Shiloh
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Shiloh is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Reidsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Wentworth
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Wentworth is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wentworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,734 people
- Stoneville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Providence
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Providence is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Stokes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Fulp
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fulp is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulp
- Pine Hall
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Walnut Cove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bailey Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bailey Town is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Town
- Germanton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Neatman
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Neatman is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neatman
- Meadows
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Meadows is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
- Upper Sawra Town ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Upper Sawra Town is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Sawra Town
- Quaker Gap
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Quaker Gap is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Gap
- Danbury
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Olive
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Olive is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Capella
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Capella is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capella
- Surry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Boyden ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Boyden is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyden
- Shoals
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Shoals is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoals
- Yadkin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- East Bend
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Huntsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Huntsville is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
- Wyo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Wyo is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyo
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Colfax, see our County-by-County Page for Colfax.
Cemeteries Near Colfax ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Colfax.
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 Colfax - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Colfax covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Eastlawn Gardens of Memory
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Mt. Gur Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Deep River Friends Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Goodwill Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- New Garden Friends Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Piedmont Memorial Gardens
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Abbotts Creek MB Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbotts Creek MB Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Abbotts Creek MB Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located
- The Abbotts Creek MB Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Abbotts Creek Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2186163 <2>
- Abbotts Creek Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Westminster Gardens Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mecum Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Oaklawn Memorial Gardens
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Belews Creek Christian Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Continue List (240 more) ...
- Guilford Memorial Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Pisgah UMC Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Forest Lawn Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Colfax had a population of 468 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Colfax, with the one closest to Colfax listed first.
- Friendship
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Friendship is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Oak Ridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Kernersville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Deep River
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Guilford College
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Guilford College is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford College
- White Road ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- White Road is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Road
- Summerfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Stokesdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Walkertown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Belews Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Belews Creek is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belews Creek
- Jamestown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pomona
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Pomona is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- High Point
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Hillsdale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hillsdale is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Dennis
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dennis is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Colfax. See our List of 1890's Communities around Colfax.
Newspapers Published in Colfax ...
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 93 newspapers that have been published in the area around Colfax.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Colfax, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Colfax.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Colfax:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Guilford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alamance County
- Davidson County
- Davie County
- Forsyth County
- Randolph County
- Rockingham County
- Stokes County
- Surry County
- Yadkin 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 '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- Colfax) 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 Colfax, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |