Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Exeter. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Exeter to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Exeter, please Contact Us.
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 Exeter (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 Exeter. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Exeter is historic, it would have been located within present day Pender 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 Pender County: Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Duplin, New Hanover, Onslow & Sampson.
Below are the counties that are near Exeter. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Exeter:
- Pender County (The home county of Exeter)
- The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Murray Town
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Murray Town is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray Town
- Saint Helena
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Helena is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Helena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 428 people
- Burgaw
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Ashton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ashton is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
- Maple Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Maple Hill is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Hill
- Rocky Point
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Watha
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Watha is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
- Willard
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Willard is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
- Topsail
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Topsail is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topsail
- Hampstead
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Brown Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Brown Town is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown Town
- Kings Landing
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kings Landing is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Landing
- Topsail Beach
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bladen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Long View
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Long View is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long View
- Kelly
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Kelly is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
- Brunswick County
- The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Navassa
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Navassa is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navassa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,534 people
- Phoenix
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Phoenix is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phoenix
- Belville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Belville is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,135 people
- Malmo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Malmo is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malmo
- Northwest
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Northwest is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
- Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
- Sandy Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sandy Creek is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 319 people
- Leland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Old Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Old Town is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Columbus County
- The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Acme
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Acme is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Riegelwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Armour
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Armour is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armour
- Delco
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sandyfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sandyfield is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandyfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 415 people
- Duplin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Pin Hook
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Pin Hook is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pin Hook
- Sholars Crossroads
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Sholars Crossroads is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sholars Crossroads
- Cypress Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cypress Creek is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Creek
- Sloan
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Sloan is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sloan
- Tin City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Tin City is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tin City
- Hancheys Store
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Hancheys Store is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancheys Store
- Pasley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Pasley is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pasley
- Cartersville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cartersville is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartersville
- Wallace
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Maready
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Maready is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maready
- Chinquapin
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Chinquapin is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinquapin
- Murphey
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Murphey is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphey
- Teachey
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Teachey is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teachey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 430 people
- New Hanover County
- The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Castle Hayne
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Skippers Corner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Skippers Corner is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skippers Corner
- Kirkland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Kirkland is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkland
- Bayshore
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bayshore is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore
- Murraysville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Murraysville is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murraysville
- Ogden
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Wrightsboro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Wrightsboro is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightsboro
- Kings Grant
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Kings Grant is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Grant
- Smith Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Smith Creek is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Creek
- Hightsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hightsville is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightsville
- Windemere
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Windemere is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windemere
- Wrightsville Beach
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Seagate
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Seagate is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seagate
- Onslow County
- The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Holly Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Surf City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Folkstone
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Folkstone is located in Onslow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folkstone
- Ocean City Beach
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Ocean City Beach is located in Onslow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean City Beach
- North Topsail Beach
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Catherine Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Catherine Lake is located in Onslow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catherine Lake
- Sneads Ferry
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Peru
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Peru is located in Onslow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
- Acorn Forest
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Acorn Forest is located in Onslow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acorn Forest
- Jacksonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Shamrock Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Shamrock Village is located in Onslow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock Village
- Cardinal Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cardinal Village is located in Onslow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardinal Village
- Half Moon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Half Moon is located in Onslow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Half Moon
- Sampson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Ivanhoe
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Ivanhoe is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
- Kerr
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Kerr is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerr
- Delway
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Delway is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delway
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Exeter, see our County-by-County Page for Exeter.
Cemeteries Near Exeter ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Exeter.
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 Exeter - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Exeter covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Ashe Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Hocutt Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Riverview Memorial Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Herring Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Riley's Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Page Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Simpson Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Herring Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Malpass Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Croom Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Bell Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Miller Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (140 more) ...
- Garrisons Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Henry Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Larkins Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
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.
While we didn't find Exeter in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Exeter.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Burgaw
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Ashton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ashton is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
- Rocky Point
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Maple Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Maple Hill is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Hill
- Long Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Long Creek is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Creek
- Castle Hayne
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Hampstead
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Angola
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Angola is located in Onslow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angola
- Holly Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Sloan
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Sloan is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sloan
- Scotts Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Scotts Hill is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Hill
- Wallace
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Currie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Montague
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Montague is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montague
- Kirkland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Kirkland is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkland
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Exeter. See our List of 1890's Communities around Exeter.
Newspapers Published in Exeter ...
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 10 newspapers that have been published in the area around Exeter.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Exeter, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Exeter.
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 Exeter:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Pender County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bladen County
- Brunswick County
- Columbus County
- Duplin County
- New Hanover County
- Onslow County
- Sampson County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for North Carolina
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Exeter, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Exeter) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |