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 Elizabethtown (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 Elizabethtown. 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.
Name Variations for Elizabethtown ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
In past government published Postal Guides, Elizabethtown was referred to as Elizabethtown Courthouse.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Elizabethtown. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Elizabethtown.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.
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 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.
Elizabethtown is located in Bladen 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 Bladen County: Columbus, Cumberland, Pender, Robeson & Sampson.
Below are the counties that are near Elizabethtown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Elizabethtown:
- Bladen County (The home county of Elizabethtown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elizabethtown, with the one closest to Elizabethtown listed first.
- Mount Olive
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Olive is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Yorick
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Yorick is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorick
- White Lake
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ruskin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ruskin is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruskin
- Dublin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Dublin is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 328 people
- Clarkton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Abbottsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Abbottsburg is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbottsburg
- White Oak
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bladenboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ammon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Ammon is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ammon
- Tar Heel
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rosindale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Rosindale is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosindale
- Butters
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Butters is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butters
- Columbus County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elizabethtown, with the one closest to Elizabethtown listed first.
- Rico
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Rico is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rico
- Mount Olive
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Olive is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Hallsboro
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hallsboro is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsboro
- Whiteville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Lake Waccamaw
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Redbug
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Redbug is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbug
- Evergreen
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Evergreen is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Brunswick
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bolton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Boardman
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Boardman is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boardman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
- Sandyfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Sandyfield is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandyfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 415 people
- Chadbourn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Grist
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Grist is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grist
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elizabethtown, with the one closest to Elizabethtown listed first.
- Stedman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Judson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Judson is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
- Ardulusa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ardulusa is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardulusa
- Vander
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Vander is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vander
- Hope Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Duplin County
- Harrells
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Harrells is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrells
- Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
- Pender County
- Atkinson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Robeson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elizabethtown, with the one closest to Elizabethtown listed first.
- Allenton
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Allenton is located in Robeson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenton
- Barker Ten Mile
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Barker Ten Mile is located in Robeson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Ten Mile
- Rozier Siding ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rozier Siding is located in Robeson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rozier Siding
- Lumberton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Saint Pauls
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Saddletree
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Saddletree is located in Robeson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saddletree
- Orrum
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Orrum is located in Robeson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrum
- Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
- Proctorville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Proctorville is located in Robeson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctorville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
- Lowe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Lowe is located in Robeson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowe
- Barnesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Barnesville is located in Robeson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnesville
- Parkton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rennert
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rennert is located in Robeson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rennert
- Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
- Fairmont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Sampson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elizabethtown, with the one closest to Elizabethtown listed first.
- Garland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tomahawk
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Tomahawk is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomahawk
- Kerr
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Kerr is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerr
- Ivanhoe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Ivanhoe is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
- Ingold
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ingold is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingold
- McDaniels
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- McDaniels is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDaniels
- Roseboro
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Snow Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Snow Hill is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Delway
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Delway is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delway
- Autryville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Autryville is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Autryville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
- Salemburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Beulah
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Beulah is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
- Concord
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Concord is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Elizabethtown, see our County-by-County Page for Elizabethtown.
Cemeteries Near Elizabethtown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elizabethtown.
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 Elizabethtown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Elizabethtown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Elizabethtown, with the one closest to Elizabethtown listed first.
- Benson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Johnson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- McGill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Davis Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mears Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bladen Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rising Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lee Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Sutton Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Melvin Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Smith Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (311 more) ...
- Melvin Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- McKoy Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Atkinson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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 Elizabethtown had a population of 309 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Elizabethtown had a population of 3,378 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Elizabethtown, with the one closest to Elizabethtown listed first.
- Abbottsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Abbottsburg is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbottsburg
- Clarkton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Elkton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Elkton is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Bladenboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Emerson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Emerson is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson
- Ammon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Ammon is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ammon
- Tar Heel
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Richardson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Richardson is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardson
- Rosindale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Rosindale is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosindale
- Westbrook
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Westbrook is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook
- Council
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Council is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
- Jerome
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jerome is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Garland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tomahawk
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Tomahawk is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomahawk
- Parkersburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Parkersburg is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkersburg
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Elizabethtown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Elizabethtown.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Elizabethtown ...
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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Elizabethtown.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Elizabethtown. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Elizabethtown and those printed in the larger area surrounding Elizabethtown.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<2> of Elizabethtown.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Elizabethtown:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Bladen County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Columbus County
- Cumberland County
- Duplin County
- Pender County
- Robeson County
- Sampson 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Elizabethtown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Elizabethtown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |