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 Dobson (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 Dobson. 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 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.
Dobson is located in Surry County and is the County Seat.
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 Surry County: Alleghany, Forsyth, Stokes, Wilkes, Yadkin, Carroll (VA), Grayson (VA) & Patrick (VA).
Below are the counties that are near Dobson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dobson:
- Surry County (The home county of Dobson)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dobson, with the one closest to Dobson listed first.
- Fairview
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Fairview is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Black Water
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Black Water is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Water
- Red Brush
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Red Brush is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Brush
- Copeland
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Copeland is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copeland
- Zephyr
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Zephyr is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zephyr
- White Plains
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- White Plains is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Stony Knoll
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stony Knoll is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Knoll
- Mulberry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mulberry is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Pine Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Pine Hill is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
- Rusk ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Rusk is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rusk
- Mountain Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mountain Park is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Park
- Ararat
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dobson, with the one closest to Dobson listed first.
- Roaring Gap
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Edmonds
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Edmonds is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
- Ennice
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Hooker
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Glade Valley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Sparta
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Amelia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Laurel Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Davie County
- Pino
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Pino is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pino
- Forsyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dobson, with the one closest to Dobson listed first.
- Donnaha
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Donnaha is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnaha
- Heritage Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Heritage Village is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Village
- The Meadows
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- The Meadows is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Meadows
- King
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Dozier
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dozier is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dozier
- Tobaccoville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hunters Trace
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Hunters Trace is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Trace
- Oak Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Park is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
- River Ridge Run
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- River Ridge Run is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Ridge Run
- Sherwood Forest
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Sherwood Forest is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood Forest
- Dorchester
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dorchester is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
- Grapewood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Grapewood is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapewood
- Iredell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dobson, with the one closest to Dobson listed first.
- Houstonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Houstonville is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houstonville
- Union Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- New Hope ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Hope is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Harmony
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Stokes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dobson, with the one closest to Dobson listed first.
- Pinnacle
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Flat Rock
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Flat Rock is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
- Mount Olive
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Mount Olive is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Capella
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Capella is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capella
- Vade Mecum
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Vade Mecum is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vade Mecum
- Quaker Gap
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Quaker Gap is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Gap
- Neatman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Neatman is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neatman
- Aarons Corner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Aarons Corner is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aarons Corner
- Lawsonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Lawsonville is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
- Campbell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Campbell is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- Danbury
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Germanton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Wilkes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dobson, with the one closest to Dobson listed first.
- Pleasant Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Lomax
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lomax is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomax
- Ronda
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Traphill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Clingman
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Clingman is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clingman
- Zebra ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Zebra is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zebra
- Brier Creek ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Brier Creek is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brier Creek
- Roaring River
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Roaring River is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaring River
- Abshers
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Abshers is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abshers
- Moxley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Moxley is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moxley
- New Castle ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- New Castle is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Castle
- Dehart
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Dehart is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dehart
- Yadkin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dobson, with the one closest to Dobson listed first.
- Boonville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Richmond Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Richmond Hill is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Hill
- Nebo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Nebo is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebo
- Mount Pleasant
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Arlington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Arlington is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Jonesville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rena
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Rena is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rena
- Union Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Union Grove is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- Forbush
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Forbush is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbush
- East Bend
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Swan Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Swan Creek is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Creek
- Branon
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Branon is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branon
- Carroll County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dobson, with the one closest to Dobson listed first.
- Cana
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Lambsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Drenn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Drenn is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
- Pipers Gap
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
- Fancy Gap
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Gladesboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Gladesboro is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesboro
- Nester
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Nester is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nester
- Woodlawn
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Hillsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Pike City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pike City is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike City
- Oak Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Oak Grove is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Star
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Star is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Galax City (VA)
- Galax
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Grayson County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dobson, with the one closest to Dobson listed first.
- Low Gap
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Low Gap is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Baywood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Baywood is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
- Fries
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Independence
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Patrick County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dobson, with the one closest to Dobson listed first.
- Ararat
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Carters Mill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Carters Mill is located in Patrick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Mill
- Peters Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Peters Creek is located in Patrick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters Creek
- Meadows of Dan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stuart
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Dobson, see our County-by-County Page for Dobson.
Cemeteries Near Dobson ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dobson.
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 Dobson - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Dobson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Dobson, with the one closest to Dobson listed first.
- Dobson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Dobson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Salem Fork Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Union Cross Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Blues Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Salem Fork Christian Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Snow Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bear Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Liberty Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Zephyr Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Open Door Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Copeland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (613 more) ...
- Rock Hill Baptist Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Union Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Union Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Dobson had a population of 40 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Dobson had a population of 1,534 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Dobson, with the one closest to Dobson listed first.
- Copeland
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Copeland is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copeland
- White Plains
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- White Plains is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Rusk ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Rusk is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rusk
- Pine Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Pine Ridge is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
- Crutchfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Crutchfield is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crutchfield
- Ash Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Ash Hill is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash Hill
- Ararat
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Flat Shoals ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Flat Shoals is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Shoals
- State Road
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rockford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rockford is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockford
- Round Peak
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Round Peak is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Peak
- Mount Airy
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Ladonia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ladonia is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladonia
- Elkin Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Elkin Valley is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkin Valley
- Elkin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Dobson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dobson.
Newspapers Published in Dobson ...
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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dobson.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dobson, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dobson.
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 Dobson:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Surry County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alleghany County
- Davie County
- Forsyth County
- Iredell County
- Stokes County
- Wilkes County
- Yadkin County
- Carroll County
- Galax City
- Grayson County
- Patrick 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> | 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 Dobson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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- Dobson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |