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 Finley Park (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 Finley Park. 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.
Finley Park is located in Wilkes 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 Wilkes County: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Caldwell, Iredell, Surry, Watauga & Yadkin.
Below are the counties that are near Finley Park. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Finley Park:
- Wilkes County (The home county of Finley Park)
- The following are listed by their distance from Finley Park, with the one closest to Finley Park listed first.
- North Wilkesboro
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Henderson ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Henderson is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson
- Fairplains
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Fairplains is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplains
- Wilkesboro
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Fletcher ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Fletcher is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
- Cricket
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Cricket is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cricket
- Adley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Adley is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adley
- Stokes ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Stokes is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokes
- Mulberry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Mulberry is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Millers Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Hays
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Moravian Falls
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Purlear
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Purlear is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purlear
- Alexander County
- The following are listed by their distance from Finley Park, with the one closest to Finley Park listed first.
- Vashti
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Vashti is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vashti
- Rocky Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Rocky Springs is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Springs
- Taylorsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Ellendale
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Ellendale is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Hiddenite
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Midway
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Midway is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Liledoun
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Liledoun is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liledoun
- Fairview Park
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Fairview Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Park
- Isenhour Park
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Isenhour Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isenhour Park
- Little River
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Little River is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River
- Millersville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Millersville is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersville
- Stony Point
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Stony Point is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
- Taylorsville Beach
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Taylorsville Beach is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorsville Beach
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Finley Park, with the one closest to Finley Park listed first.
- Laurel Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Roaring Gap
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Glade Valley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Scottville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Sparta
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Hooker
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Amelia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Topia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Topia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
- Ennice
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Piney Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Edmonds
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Edmonds is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
- Ashe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Finley Park, with the one closest to Finley Park listed first.
- Obids
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Obids is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obids
- Glendale Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Transou
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Transou is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transou
- Yates
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Yates is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates
- Wagoner
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wagoner is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagoner
- Fleetwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Orion
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Orion is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
- Brownwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Brownwood is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownwood
- Jefferson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- West Jefferson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Crumpler
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Todd
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Warrensville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Caldwell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Finley Park, with the one closest to Finley Park listed first.
- Kings Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Kings Creek is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Creek
- Cilley ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cilley is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cilley
- Draco
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Draco is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draco
- Cedar Rock
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Rock is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Cedar Rock has also been known as:
- Cedar Rock village
- Downsville ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Downsville is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downsville
- Emanuel ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Emanuel is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emanuel
- Patterson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Patterson is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Lenoir
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lenoir is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenoir
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,911 people
- Former name for Lenoir:
- Tucker's Barn
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lenoir <1>
- Concord ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Concord is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Mulberry
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Mulberry is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Granite Falls
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hudson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hudson is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,703 people
- Former name for Hudson:
- Hudsonville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hudson <1>
- Blowing Rock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Catawba County
- The following are listed by their distance from Finley Park, with the one closest to Finley Park listed first.
- Catfish
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Catfish is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catfish
- North Hickory
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- North Hickory is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hickory
- Oxford Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Oxford Park is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford Park
- Saint Stephens
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Saint Stephens is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Stephens
- Sunrise Beach
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Sunrise Beach is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Beach
- Viewmont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Viewmont is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viewmont
- Iredell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Finley Park, with the one closest to Finley Park listed first.
- Love Valley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- New Hope ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- New Hope is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Union Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Brevard ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Brevard is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brevard
- Olin
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Olin is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olin
- Scotts
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Scotts is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts
- Houstonville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Houstonville is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houstonville
- Harmony
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Turnersburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Turnersburg is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnersburg
- Statesville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Surry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Finley Park, with the one closest to Finley Park listed first.
- Elkin
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Elkin Valley
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Elkin Valley is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkin Valley
- Thurmond
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- State Road
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Devotion
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Devotion is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devotion
- Mountain Park
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mountain Park is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Park
- Mulberry
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mulberry is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Rusk ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Rusk is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rusk
- Zephyr
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Zephyr is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zephyr
- Fairview
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fairview is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Stony Knoll
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Stony Knoll is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Knoll
- Dobson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Low Gap
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Watauga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Finley Park, with the one closest to Finley Park listed first.
- Stony Fork
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Stony Fork is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Fork
- Deep Gap
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Laxon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Laxon is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laxon
- Rutherwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Rutherwood is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherwood
- Bamboo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Bamboo is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamboo
- Moretz
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Moretz is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moretz
- Sands
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Sands is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sands
- Norris ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Norris is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Boone
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Yadkin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Finley Park, with the one closest to Finley Park listed first.
- Swan Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Swan Creek is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Creek
- Cycle
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Cycle is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cycle
- Arlington
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Arlington is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Jonesville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Marler
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Marler is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marler
- Rena
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Rena is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rena
- Windsors Crossroads
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Windsors Crossroads is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsors Crossroads
- Hamptonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Branon
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Branon is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branon
- Boonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Footville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Footville is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Footville
- Nebo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Nebo is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebo
- Yadkinville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Grayson County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Finley Park, with the one closest to Finley Park listed first.
- Mouth-of-Wilson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Low Gap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Low Gap is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Finley Park, see our County-by-County Page for Finley Park.
Cemeteries Near Finley Park ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Finley Park.
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 Finley Park - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Finley Park covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Finley Park, with the one closest to Finley Park listed first.
- Union Tarheel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Mountain Park Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Park Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mountain Park Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Wilkesboro.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #48172 <2>
- Mountlawn Memorial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Cherry Grove Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hunting Creek Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Sinai Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Long Bottom Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Old Bethany Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Old Brier Creek Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Burke Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Roberts Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (214 more) ...
- Taylor Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Lebanon Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Johnson Family Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson Family Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Johnson Family Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the west of Traphill.
- The Johnson Family Cemetery has also been known as:
- Old Johnson Family Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2188960 <2>
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 Finley Park in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Finley Park.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Finley Park, with the one closest to Finley Park listed first.
- Wilkesboro
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Fairplains
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Fairplains is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplains
- Cricket
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Cricket is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cricket
- Adley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Adley is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adley
- Mulberry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Mulberry is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Millers Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Moravian Falls
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Hay Meadow ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Hay Meadow is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay Meadow
- Hunting Creek ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hunting Creek is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunting Creek
- Purlear
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Purlear is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purlear
- Dellaplane
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Dellaplane is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellaplane
- Boomer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Boomer is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boomer
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Halls Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Halls Mills is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Mills
- Dehart
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Dehart is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dehart
- Gilreath
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Gilreath is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilreath
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Finley Park. See our List of 1890's Communities around Finley Park.
Newspapers Published in Finley Park ...
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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Finley Park.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Finley Park, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Finley Park.
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 websites either 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 Finley Park:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Wilkes County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alexander County
- Alleghany County
- Ashe County
- Caldwell County
- Catawba County
- Iredell County
- Surry County
- Watauga County
- Yadkin County
- Grayson 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 '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- Finley Park) 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 Finley Park, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |