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 Dover (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 Dover. 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 and hospitals 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.
Dover is located in Cleveland 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 Cleveland County: Burke, Gaston, Lincoln, Rutherford, Cherokee (SC) & York (SC).
Below are the counties that are near Dover. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dover:
- Cleveland County (The home county of Dover)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
- Briarwood Townhouses
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Briarwood Townhouses is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood Townhouses
- Shelby
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Village Square Townhouses
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Brittain Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Brittain Village is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brittain Village
- Sharon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Sharon is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Elizabeth City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Elizabeth City is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabeth City
- Kingstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Kingstown is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
- Lattimore
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Lattimore is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lattimore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- Light Oak
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Light Oak is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Light Oak
- Patterson Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Patterson Springs is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 628 people
- Campcall
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Campcall is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campcall
- Boiling Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Burke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
- Camp Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Camp Creek is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Creek
- Ramsey
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Ramsey is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
- Shoups Ford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Shoups Ford is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoups Ford
- Enola
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Enola is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enola
- Brindletown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Brindletown is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brindletown
- Yellow Gap
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Yellow Gap is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Gap
- Rollins ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rollins is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollins
- Salem
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Salem is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Hildebran
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Icard
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Magnolia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Magnolia is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Connelly Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Catawba County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
- Cooksville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Cooksville is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooksville
- Banoak
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Banoak is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banoak
- Plateau
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Plateau is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plateau
- Blackburn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Blackburn is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Propst Crossroads
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Propst Crossroads is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Propst Crossroads
- Advent Crossroads
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Advent Crossroads is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advent Crossroads
- Rhoney
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rhoney is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhoney
- Meadow Brook Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Meadow Brook Village is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Brook Village
- Maiden
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mountain View
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mountain View is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
- Providence Mill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Providence Mill is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence Mill
- Duan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Duan is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duan
- Gaston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
- Dellview
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dellview is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellview
- Population from the 2010 Census: 13 people
- Perry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Perry is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perry
- Cherryville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Tryon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Tryon is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tryon
- Bessemer City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Gastonia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- High Shoals
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- High Shoals is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Shoals
- Population from the 2020 Census: 757 people
- South Gastonia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- South Gastonia is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gastonia
- Dallas
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Ranlo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Ranlo is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ranlo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,708 people
- Smyre
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Smyre is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smyre
- Alexis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Alexis is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexis
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
- North Brook ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- North Brook is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Brook
- Hulls Crossroads
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hulls Crossroads is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulls Crossroads
- Laurel Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Laurel Hill is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
- Crouse
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Crouse is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crouse
- Henry
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Henry is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
- Vale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lincolnton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Boger City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Boger City is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boger City
- Iron Station
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Iron Station is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Station
- Machpelah
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Machpelah is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Machpelah
- McDowell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
- Mountain Home ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain Home is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Vein Mountain
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Vein Mountain is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vein Mountain
- Patten
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Patten is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patten
- Rutherford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
- Six Points
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Six Points is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Six Points
- Ellenboro
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Hollis
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hollis is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis
- Caroleen
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Caroleen is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caroleen
- Henrietta
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Henrietta is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
- Concord
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Concord is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Washburn
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Washburn is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washburn
- Bostic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Sandy Mush
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Sandy Mush is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Mush
- Sunshine
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sunshine is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
- Alexander Mills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Alexander Mills is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Mills
- Forest City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Cherokee County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
- Blacksburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- East Gaffney
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- East Gaffney is located in Cherokee County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gaffney
- Gaffney
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Kings Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Chesnee
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Macedonia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Macedonia is located in Cherokee County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
- Spartanburg County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
- Brooklyn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Brooklyn is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Mayo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cowpens
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Cowpens is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,465 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cowpens <1>
- Clifton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Converse
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fingerville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Zion Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Zion Hill is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion Hill
- Central Pacolet
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Central Pacolet is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Pacolet
- Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
- Pacolet Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Glendale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Boiling Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Drayton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- York County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
- Smyrna
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bowling Green
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Zadok ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Zadok is located in York County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zadok
- Hickory Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Clover
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Filbert
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Filbert is located in York County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filbert
- Hopewell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hopewell is located in York County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Sharon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- York
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Blairsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Blairsville is located in York County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Dover, see our County-by-County Page for Dover.
Cemeteries Near Dover ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dover.
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 Dover - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Dover covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
- Royster Memorial Park
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Sunset Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Beaver Dam Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- East Side Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Ross Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Sharon Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Webb Memorial Lawns
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Zion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Community Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Elizabeth Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- McBrayer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Cleveland Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (322 more) ...
- Golden Ridge Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Sulphur Springs Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Lattimore Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<2>
While we didn't find Dover in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Dover.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Dover, with the one closest to Dover listed first.
- Shelby
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Sharon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Sharon is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Lattimore
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Lattimore is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lattimore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- Double Shoals
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Double Shoals is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Shoals
- Boiling Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Campcall
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Campcall is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campcall
- Stubbs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Stubbs is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stubbs
- Earl
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Earl is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earl
- Population from the 2020 Census: 261 people
- Durbro ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Durbro is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durbro
- Beam Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Beam Mill is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beam Mill
- Nicholsville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Nicholsville is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholsville
- Erwinsville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Erwinsville is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erwinsville
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Polkville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Polkville is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
- Waco
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Waco is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 319 people
- Fallston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Dover. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dover.
Newspapers Published in Dover ...
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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dover.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dover, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dover.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Dover:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Cleveland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Burke County
- Catawba County
- Gaston County
- Lincoln County
- McDowell County
- Rutherford County
- Cherokee County
- Spartanburg County
- York 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 Dover, 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' (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- Dover) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |