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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 Fairfield (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 Fairfield. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Fairfield is located in Johnston 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 Johnston County: Harnett, Nash, Sampson, Wake, Wayne & Wilson.

Below are the counties that are near Fairfield. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Fairfield:

  • Johnston County     (The home county of Fairfield)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfield, with the one closest to Fairfield listed first.
    • Smithfield
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Selma
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Selma is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,323 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Selma <1>
    • West Smithfield
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • West Smithfield is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Smithfield
    • Redwood Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Redwood Village is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood Village
    • Pine Level
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Wilson's Mills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
    • Micro
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Micro is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
    • Four Oaks
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Princeton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Rains Crossroads
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Rains Crossroads is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains Crossroads
    • Beulahtown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Beulahtown is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulahtown
    • Bentonville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Bentonville is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bentonville
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfield, with the one closest to Fairfield listed first.
    • Falcon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Falcon is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falcon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 250 people
    • Godwin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Linden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Duplin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfield, with the one closest to Fairfield listed first.
    • Calypso
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Calypso is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calypso
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 528 people
    • Faison
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfield, with the one closest to Fairfield listed first.
    • Sutton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Sutton is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutton
    • Bunn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Bunn is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 401 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bunn <1>
  • Harnett County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfield, with the one closest to Fairfield listed first.
    • Lakeside Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Lakeside Village is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside Village
    • Grove Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Grove Park is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Park
    • Westhaven
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Westhaven is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westhaven
    • Barclaysville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Barclaysville is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclaysville
    • Coats
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Coats is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coats
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,520 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coats <1>
    • Dunn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Dunn is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,684 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dunn <1>
    • Turlington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Turlington is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turlington
    • Angier
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Erwin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Erwin is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erwin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,202 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erwin <1>
    • Buies Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Averasboro ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Averasboro is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averasboro
    • Chalybeate Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Chalybeate Springs is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
  • Nash County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfield, with the one closest to Fairfield listed first.
    • Middlesex
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Middlesex is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesex
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 834 people
    • Rogers Crossroads
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Rogers Crossroads is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers Crossroads
    • Bailey
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Murraytown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Murraytown is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murraytown
    • Union Hope
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Union Hope is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hope
    • Mount Pleasant
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
    • Rocky Cross
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Rocky Cross is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Cross
    • Samaria
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Samaria is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
    • High Crossroads
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • High Crossroads is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Crossroads
    • Frazier Crossroads
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Frazier Crossroads is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Crossroads
    • Floods Chapel
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Floods Chapel is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floods Chapel
    • Gold Valley Crossroads
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Sampson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfield, with the one closest to Fairfield listed first.
    • Blackmans Mills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Blackmans Mills is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackmans Mills
    • Newton Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Plain View
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Plain View is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plain View
    • Vann Crossroads
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Vann Crossroads is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vann Crossroads
    • Spiveys Corner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Spiveys Corner is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spiveys Corner
    • Beaman Crossroads
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Beaman Crossroads is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaman Crossroads
    • Keener
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Keener is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
  • Wake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfield, with the one closest to Fairfield listed first.
    • Shotwell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Shotwell is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shotwell
    • Auburn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Auburn is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
    • Wendell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Emerald Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Emerald Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Village
    • Eagle Rock
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Eagle Rock is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Rock
    • Mount Pleasant
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
    • Zebulon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Garner
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hopedale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hopedale is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopedale
    • Knightdale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • McCullers
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • McCullers is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCullers
    • Macks Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Macks Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macks Village
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfield, with the one closest to Fairfield listed first.
    • Raynor Town
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Raynor Town is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raynor Town
    • Nahunta
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Nahunta is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nahunta
    • Grantham
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Grantham is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantham
    • Pikeville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Fremont
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Mar-Mac Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Mar-Mac Village is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mar-Mac Village
    • Mar-Mac
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Mar-Mac is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mar-Mac
    • Genoa
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Genoa is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genoa
    • Goldsboro
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Brogden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Brogden is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brogden
    • Berkeley Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Berkeley Village is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkeley Village
    • Dudley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
  • Wilson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfield, with the one closest to Fairfield listed first.
    • Lucama
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Scotts
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Scotts is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts
    • Black Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Black Creek is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 767 people
    • Sims
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Wilson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Eastwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Eastwood is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood
    • Spring Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Spring Lake is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
    • Stantonsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Fairfield, see our County-by-County Page for Fairfield.

Cemeteries Near Fairfield ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fairfield.

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 Fairfield - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Fairfield covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Fairfield, with the one closest to Fairfield listed first.

  • Oakland Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Walls Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Selma Memorial Gardens
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma Memorial Gardens
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Selma Memorial Gardens is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Selma.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #48713 <2>
  • Selma Memorial Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Peedin Family Burial Ground
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peedin Family Burial Ground
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Peedin Family Burial Ground is located outside and to the west of Selma.
    • The Peedin Family Burial Ground has also been known as:
    • Peedin Family Cemetery
    • Wiley Peedin Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2526792 <2>
  • John D. Thomas Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Eason Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Jones Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Crocker Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Hills of Neuse Memorial Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (241 more) ...
    • Sanders Chapel UMC Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Lassiter Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Oakey Grove Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 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.<4>

While we didn't find Fairfield in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Fairfield.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Fairfield, with the one closest to Fairfield listed first.

  • Smithfield
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Selma
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Selma is located in Johnston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,323 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Selma <1>
  • Oliver
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Oliver is located in Johnston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliver
  • Pine Level
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Wilson's Mills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • 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
  • Micro
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Micro is located in Johnston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micro
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
  • Spilona
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Spilona is located in Johnston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spilona
  • Four Oaks
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Princeton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Bagley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bagley is located in Johnston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagley
  • Bentonville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Bentonville is located in Johnston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bentonville
  • Kenly
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Kenly is located in Johnston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenly
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,624 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kenly <1>
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Clayton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Archer Lodge
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • Pinkney
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Pinkney is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinkney

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Fairfield. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fairfield.

Newspapers Published in Fairfield ...

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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fairfield.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fairfield, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fairfield.

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 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 Fairfield:

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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Fairfield) 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 Fairfield, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.