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 Duncan (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 Duncan. 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.
Duncan is located in Harnett 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 Harnett County: Chatham, Cumberland, Johnston, Lee, Sampson & Wake.
Below are the counties that are near Duncan. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Duncan:
- Harnett County (The home county of Duncan)
- The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Rawls
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rawls is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawls
- Cokesbury
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cokesbury is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokesbury
- Chalybeate Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Chalybeate Springs is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
- Kipling
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kipling is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipling
- Angier
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cape Fear
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Luart
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Luart is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luart
- Mamers
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Mamers is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mamers
- Lillington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Barclaysville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Barclaysville is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclaysville
- Boone Trail
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Boone Trail is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boone Trail
- Ryes
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ryes is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryes
- Buies Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Alamance County
- Mandale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mandale is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandale
- Chatham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Corinth
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Corinth is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Brickhaven
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Brickhaven is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickhaven
- Haywood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Haywood is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood
- Moncure
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Cary
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Farmville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Fearrington Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fearrington Village is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fearrington Village
- Pittsboro
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bynum
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bynum is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Gulf
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Gulf is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf
- Goldston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Carbonton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Carbonton is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbonton
- Bear Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Bear Creek is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Linden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Manchester
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Manchester is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
- Godwin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Wade
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Falcon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Falcon is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falcon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 250 people
- Fort Bragg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- North Point Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- North Point Village is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Point Village
- Durham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Morrisville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Nelson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Nelson is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
- Parkwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Parkwood is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Brassfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Brassfield is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
- Durham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Johnston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Willow Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Willow Springs is located in Johnston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
- Benson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Clayton
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Allens Crossroads
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Allens Crossroads is located in Johnston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Crossroads
- Four Oaks
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Peacocks Crossroads
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Peacocks Crossroads is located in Johnston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peacocks Crossroads
- Archer Lodge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Archer Lodge is located in Johnston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archer Lodge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,322 people
- Archer Lodge has also been known as:
- Archer
- West Smithfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- West Smithfield is located in Johnston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Smithfield
- Wilson's Mills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Wilson's Mills is located in Johnston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson's Mills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,847 people
- McKoy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- McKoy is located in Johnston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKoy
- Smithfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Broadway
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Edgewater Estates
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Edgewater Estates is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater Estates
- Osgood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Osgood is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osgood
- Colon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Colon is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colon
- San-Lee Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- San-Lee Park is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San-Lee Park
- Carolina Trace
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Carolina Trace is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Trace
- Jonesboro Heights
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jonesboro Heights is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro Heights
- Saint Andrews
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Andrews is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrews
- Swann
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Swann is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swann
- Sanford
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Glenwood Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Glenwood Village is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Village
- Green Valley Estates
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Cumnock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Cumnock is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumnock
- Moore County
- The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Cameron
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Pleasant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Orange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Dogwood Acres
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Dogwood Acres is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood Acres
- Greenwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Greenwood is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Davie Circle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Davie Circle is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davie Circle
- Tenney Circle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Tenney Circle is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenney Circle
- Chapel Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Bolus
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Mount Bolus is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Bolus
- Summerfield Crossing
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Summerfield Crossing is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield Crossing
- Carrboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Valley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Valley is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Ashley Forest
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Ashley Forest is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashley Forest
- Cedar Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Cedar Hill is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Lake Ellen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Lake Ellen is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ellen
- Rangewood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rangewood is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rangewood
- Sampson County
- Plain View
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Plain View is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plain View
- Wake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Wilbon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wilbon is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbon
- Hollemans Crossroads
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hollemans Crossroads is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollemans Crossroads
- Former names for Hollemans Crossroads:
- Collins
- Enno
- Fuquay - Varina
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Holly Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Kennebec
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Kennebec is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennebec
- New Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Macks Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Macks Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macks Village
- Mount Pleasant
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Apex
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- McCullers
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- McCullers is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCullers
- Indian Trail
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Indian Trail is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Trail
- Dutchess Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Dutchess Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchess Village
- Hopedale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hopedale is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopedale
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Duncan, see our County-by-County Page for Duncan.
Cemeteries Near Duncan ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Duncan.
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 Duncan - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Duncan covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Starlight Memorial Garden
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- St. Augusta MB Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Wake Chapel Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Greenlawn Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- McKinney Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Olive Branch Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Smith Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Aldridge Partin Family Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Neills Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Willow Spring Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Sorrell Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Continue List (174 more) ...
- Westview Memorial Gardens
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Harnett Memorial Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Green Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
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>
While we didn't find Duncan in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Duncan.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Holly Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Corinth
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Corinth is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- New Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Merry Oaks
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Merry Oaks is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merry Oaks
- Banks
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Banks is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
- Lillington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Barclaysville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Barclaysville is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclaysville
- Apex
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Haywood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Haywood is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood
- Moncure
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Cary
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Garner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Asbury
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Asbury is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
- Bunnlevel
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bunnlevel is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunnlevel
- Turlington
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Turlington is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turlington
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Duncan. See our List of 1890's Communities around Duncan.
Newspapers Published in Duncan ...
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 15 newspapers that have been published in the area around Duncan.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Duncan, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Duncan.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Duncan:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Harnett County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alamance County
- Chatham County
- Cumberland County
- Durham County
- Johnston County
- Lee County
- Moore County
- Orange County
- Sampson County
- Wake 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Duncan) 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 Duncan, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |