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 Idlewild (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 Idlewild. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.
Idlewild is located in Ashe 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 Ashe County: Alleghany, Watauga, Wilkes, Johnson (TN) & Grayson (VA).
Below are the counties that are near Idlewild. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Idlewild:
- Ashe County (The home county of Idlewild)
- The following are listed by their distance from Idlewild, with the one closest to Idlewild listed first.
- Yates
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Yates is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates
- Obids
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Obids is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obids
- Fleetwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Glendale Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Brownwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Brownwood is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownwood
- Orion
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Orion is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
- West Jefferson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Wagoner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Wagoner is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagoner
- Todd
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Jefferson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Transou
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Transou is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transou
- Warrensville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Creston
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Alexander County
- The following are listed by their distance from Idlewild, with the one closest to Idlewild listed first.
- Ellendale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Ellendale is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Vashti
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Vashti is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vashti
- Little River
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Little River is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River
- Liledoun
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Liledoun is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liledoun
- Taylorsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rocky Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rocky Springs is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Springs
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Idlewild, with the one closest to Idlewild listed first.
- Laurel Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Scottville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Topia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Topia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
- Piney Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Amelia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Sparta
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Glade Valley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Roaring Gap
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Hooker
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Ennice
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Avery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Idlewild, with the one closest to Idlewild listed first.
- Seven Devils
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Grandfather
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Grandfather is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandfather
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
- Sugar Mountain
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sugar Mountain is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Mountain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Banner Elk
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Beech Mountain
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Mount Gilead
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Mount Gilead is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
- Whaley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Whaley is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whaley
- Linville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Montezuma
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Montezuma is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
- Newland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pineola
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Vale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Vale is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Caldwell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Idlewild, with the one closest to Idlewild listed first.
- Blowing Rock
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cilley ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Cilley is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cilley
- Kings Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Kings Creek is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Creek
- Mulberry
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mulberry is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Patterson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Patterson is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Rufus
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rufus is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rufus
- Cedar Rock
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- 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
- Emanuel ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Emanuel is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emanuel
- Draco
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Draco is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draco
- Lenoir
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- 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>
- Abingdon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Abingdon is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Mortimer ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mortimer is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mortimer
- Collettsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Surry County
- Thurmond
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Watauga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Idlewild, with the one closest to Idlewild listed first.
- Stony Fork
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Stony Fork is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Fork
- Deep Gap
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Laxon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Laxon is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laxon
- Rutherwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rutherwood is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherwood
- Moretz
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Moretz is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moretz
- Bamboo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bamboo is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamboo
- Norris ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Norris is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Sands
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Sands is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sands
- Boone
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Zionville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Mabel
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Mabel is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
- Shulls Mill
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Shulls Mill is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shulls Mill
- Vilas
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Wilkes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Idlewild, with the one closest to Idlewild listed first.
- Wilbar
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Wilbar is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbar
- Maple Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Maple Springs is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Springs
- Hendrix ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Hendrix is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrix
- Mount Pleasant
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Purlear
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Purlear is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purlear
- McGrady
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- McGrady is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGrady
- Millers Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ferguson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Mulberry
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Mulberry is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Springfield ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Springfield is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Adley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Adley is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adley
- Cricket
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cricket is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cricket
- Stokes ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stokes is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokes
- Johnson County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Idlewild, with the one closest to Idlewild listed first.
- Trade
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Dowell ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Dowell is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
- Estimated population in 2014: 364 people
- Mountain City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Vaughtsville ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Vaughtsville is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughtsville
- Fuller
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fuller is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Shingletown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Shingletown is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shingletown
- Norris
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Norris is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,652 people
- Grayson County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Idlewild, with the one closest to Idlewild listed first.
- Mouth-of-Wilson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Rugby
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Rugby is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Whitetop
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Bridle Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Flat Ridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Flat Ridge is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Ridge
- Trout Dale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Independence
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Washington County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Idlewild, with the one closest to Idlewild listed first.
- Green Cove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Green Cove is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Cove
- Damascus
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Idlewild, see our County-by-County Page for Idlewild.
Cemeteries Near Idlewild ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Idlewild.
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 Idlewild - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Idlewild covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Idlewild, with the one closest to Idlewild listed first.
- Stony Fork Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Edear Parsons Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Walters - Jacobs Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Greene Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Gragg Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Horton Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Peak Creek Community Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peak Creek Community Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Peak Creek Community Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<3> to the northeast of Glendale Springs.
- The Peak Creek Community Cemetery has also been known as:
- Peak Creek Church of the Brethren Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2202515 <2>
- Ashelawn Memorial Gardens
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Wallace Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Hodges Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Brown Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Sands Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (476 more) ...
- Moretz Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Vannoy Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Burke Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 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>
While we didn't find Idlewild in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Idlewild.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Idlewild, with the one closest to Idlewild listed first.
- Obids
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Obids is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obids
- Stony Fork
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Stony Fork is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Fork
- Parsonville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Parsonville is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsonville
- Beaver Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Beaver Creek is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Creek
- Baldwin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Baldwin is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Triplett
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Triplett is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triplett
- Maple Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Maple Springs is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Springs
- Wilbar
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Wilbar is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbar
- Wagoner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Wagoner is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagoner
- Rutherwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rutherwood is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherwood
- Mount Zion
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Mount Zion is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Vannoy
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Vannoy is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vannoy
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Solo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Solo is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solo
- Jefferson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Hendrix ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Hendrix is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrix
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Idlewild. See our List of 1890's Communities around Idlewild.
Newspapers Published in Idlewild ...
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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Idlewild.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Idlewild, 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 Idlewild.
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 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 Idlewild:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Ashe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alexander County
- Alleghany County
- Avery County
- Caldwell County
- Surry County
- Watauga County
- Wilkes County
- Johnson County
- Grayson County
- Washington 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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Idlewild) 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 Idlewild, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |