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 Franklin (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 Franklin. 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 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.
Franklin is located in Surry 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 Surry County: Alleghany, Forsyth, Stokes, Wilkes, Yadkin, Carroll (VA), Grayson (VA) & Patrick (VA).
Below are the counties that are near Franklin. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Franklin:
- Surry County (The home county of Franklin)
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Toast
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Toast is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toast
- Mount Airy
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Flat Rock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Flat Rock is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
- White Plains
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- White Plains is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Red Brush
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Red Brush is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Brush
- Sheltontown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Sheltontown is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheltontown
- Holly Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Holly Springs is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Black Water
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Black Water is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Water
- Flat Shoals ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Flat Shoals is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Shoals
- Ararat
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dobson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Round Peak
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Round Peak is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Peak
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Edmonds
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Edmonds is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
- Ennice
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Roaring Gap
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hooker
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Glade Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Sparta
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Forsyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Heritage Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Heritage Village is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Village
- Donnaha
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Donnaha is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnaha
- King
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- The Meadows
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- The Meadows is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Meadows
- Tobaccoville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dozier
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dozier is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dozier
- Oak Park
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Park is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
- Hunter Meadows
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hunter Meadows is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Meadows
- Hunters Trace
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hunters Trace is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Trace
- River Ridge Run
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- River Ridge Run is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Ridge Run
- Rural Hall
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Seward
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Seward is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seward
- Stokes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Flat Rock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Flat Rock is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
- Pinnacle
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Vade Mecum
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Vade Mecum is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vade Mecum
- Aarons Corner
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Aarons Corner is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aarons Corner
- Capella
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Capella is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capella
- Mount Olive
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Olive is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Quaker Gap
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Quaker Gap is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Gap
- Campbell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Campbell is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- Lawsonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Lawsonville is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
- Danbury
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Neatman
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Neatman is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neatman
- Snow Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Snow Hill is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Wilkes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Pleasant Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Lomax
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lomax is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomax
- Traphill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Ronda
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Clingman
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Clingman is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clingman
- Zebra ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Zebra is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zebra
- Abshers
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Abshers is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abshers
- Moxley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Moxley is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moxley
- Brier Creek ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Brier Creek is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brier Creek
- Roaring River
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Roaring River is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaring River
- Dehart
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dehart is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dehart
- New Castle ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- New Castle is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Castle
- Yadkin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Richmond Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Richmond Hill is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Hill
- Boonville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Mount Pleasant
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Nebo
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Nebo is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebo
- Union Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Union Grove is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- East Bend
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Forbush
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Forbush is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbush
- Jonesville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Arlington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Arlington is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Rena
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Rena is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rena
- Yadkinville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Swan Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Swan Creek is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Creek
- Carroll County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Cana
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Lambsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fancy Gap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Drenn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Drenn is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
- Gladesboro
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Gladesboro is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesboro
- Nester
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Nester is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nester
- Pipers Gap
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
- Pike City
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Pike City is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike City
- Hillsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Woodlawn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Dugspur
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Star
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Star is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Floyd County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Indian Valley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Duncan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Duncan is located in Floyd County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Galax City (VA)
- Galax
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Grayson County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Low Gap
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Low Gap is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Baywood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Baywood is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
- Fries
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Independence
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Patrick County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Ararat
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Carters Mill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Carters Mill is located in Patrick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Mill
- Peters Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Peters Creek is located in Patrick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters Creek
- Meadows of Dan
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Stuart
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Patrick Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Critz
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Nettleridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Nettleridge is located in Patrick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettleridge
- Woolwine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Elamsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Elamsville is located in Patrick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elamsville
- Wythe County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Austinville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ivanhoe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Franklin, see our County-by-County Page for Franklin.
Cemeteries Near Franklin ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Franklin.
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 Franklin - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Franklin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Sandy Level Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Old Methodist Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Hull Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- White Plains Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- White Plains Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Skyline Memorial Garden
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Oakdale Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale Cemetery
- The Oakdale Cemetery has also been known as:
- Oakdale City Cemetery
- Oakdale Memorial Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1984350 <3>
- Gods Acre Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Grace Moravian God's Acre
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Ararat Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Holly Springs Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (665 more) ...
- James Monroe Hiatt Memorial Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James Monroe Hiatt Memorial Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the James Monroe Hiatt Memorial Cemetery is located in Sheltontown.
- The James Monroe Hiatt Memorial Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hiatt Memorial Cemetery
- Monroe Hiatt Memorial Cemetery
- Old Mormon Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2258802 <3>
- Midkiff Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Paynetown Community Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
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 Franklin in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Franklin.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
- Mount Airy
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- White Plains
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- White Plains is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Pine Ridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Pine Ridge is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
- Flat Shoals ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Flat Shoals is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Shoals
- Cana
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Ash Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ash Hill is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash Hill
- Ararat
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dobson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Round Peak
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Round Peak is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Peak
- Lambsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Copeland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Copeland is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copeland
- Westfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Pilot Mountain
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Carters Mill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Carters Mill is located in Patrick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Mill
- Ladonia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Ladonia is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladonia
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Franklin. See our List of 1890's Communities around Franklin.
Newspapers Published in Franklin ...
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 Franklin.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Franklin, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Franklin.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Franklin:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Surry County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alleghany County
- Forsyth County
- Stokes County
- Wilkes County
- Yadkin County
- Carroll County
- Floyd County
- Galax City
- Grayson County
- Patrick County
- Wythe 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Franklin) 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 Franklin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |