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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 Kenansville (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 Kenansville. 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.

Name Variations for Kenansville ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

In past government published Postal Guides, Kenansville was referred to as Kenansville Courthouse.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Kenansville. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Kenansville.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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 hospitals and 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.

Kenansville is located in Duplin County and is the County Seat.

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 Duplin County: Jones, Lenoir, Onslow, Pender, Sampson & Wayne.

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

  • Duplin County     (The home county of Kenansville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kenansville, with the one closest to Kenansville listed first.
    • Westbrook Crossroads
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Westbrook Crossroads is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Crossroads
    • Carroll
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Carroll is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
    • Sarecta
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Sarecta is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarecta
    • Magnolia
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Magnolia is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 951 people
    • Everton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Everton is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everton
    • Register
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Register is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Register
    • Warsaw
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Red Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Red Hill is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
    • Summerlins Crossroads
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Friendship
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Friendship is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
    • Hallsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Hallsville is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsville
    • Cabin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Cabin is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabin
    • Charity
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Charity is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charity
  • Jones County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kenansville, with the one closest to Kenansville listed first.
    • Hargetts Crossroads
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Hargetts Crossroads is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hargetts Crossroads
    • Taylors Corner
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Taylors Corner is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylors Corner
    • Pleasant Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Pleasant Hill is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
    • Combs Fork
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Combs Fork is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combs Fork
    • Comfort
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Comfort is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comfort
    • Shady Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Shady Grove is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
    • Phillips Crossroads
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Phillips Crossroads is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillips Crossroads
  • Lenoir County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kenansville, with the one closest to Kenansville listed first.
    • Pink Hill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Deep Run
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Deep Run is located in Lenoir County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Run
    • Albrittons
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Albrittons is located in Lenoir County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albrittons
    • La Grange
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Fields
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Fields is located in Lenoir County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fields
    • Loftins Crossroads
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Loftins Crossroads is located in Lenoir County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loftins Crossroads
    • Kinfield Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Kinfield Village is located in Lenoir County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinfield Village
    • Kinston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Onslow County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kenansville, with the one closest to Kenansville listed first.
    • Huffmantown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Huffmantown is located in Onslow County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffmantown
    • Richlands
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Catherine Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Catherine Lake is located in Onslow County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catherine Lake
    • Mill Pond Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Mill Pond Village is located in Onslow County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Pond Village
    • Half Moon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Half Moon is located in Onslow County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Half Moon
    • Shamrock Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Shamrock Village is located in Onslow County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock Village
  • Pender County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kenansville, with the one closest to Kenansville listed first.
    • Willard
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Willard is located in Pender County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
    • Watha
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Watha is located in Pender County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watha
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
    • Murray Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Murray Town is located in Pender County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray Town
    • Maple Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Maple Hill is located in Pender County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Hill
    • Burgaw
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Saint Helena
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Saint Helena is located in Pender County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Helena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 428 people
  • Sampson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kenansville, with the one closest to Kenansville listed first.
    • Turkey
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Elliott
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Elliott is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
    • Moltonville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Moltonville is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moltonville
    • Delway
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Delway is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delway
    • Clinton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Beulah
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Beulah is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
    • Keener
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Keener is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
    • Ingold
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Ingold is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingold
    • Bonnetsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Bonnetsville is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnetsville
    • Kitty Fork
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Kitty Fork is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kitty Fork
    • Concord
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Concord is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Tomahawk
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Tomahawk is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomahawk
    • Beaman Crossroads
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Beaman Crossroads is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaman Crossroads
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kenansville, with the one closest to Kenansville listed first.
    • Mount Olive
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Seven Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Dudley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Brogden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Brogden is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brogden
    • Walnut Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Walnut Creek is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 864 people
    • Genoa
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Genoa is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genoa
    • Grantham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Grantham is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantham
    • Elroy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Elroy is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elroy
    • Mar-Mac Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Mar-Mac Village is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mar-Mac Village
    • Mar-Mac
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Mar-Mac is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mar-Mac
    • Berkeley Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Berkeley Village is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkeley Village
    • Goldsboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Kenansville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kenansville.

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

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

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

  • Routledge Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Matthew Southerland Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Devotional Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • East Duplin Memorial Gardens
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Pine Crest Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Parker - Brooks Family Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Rose Hill Cemetery is located outside and to the northeast of Rose Hill.
  • Westbrook Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Clay Hill Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Wilson Family Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (145 more) ...
    • John Henderson Family Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for John Henderson Family Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the John Henderson Family Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the northwest of Beulaville.
      • The John Henderson Family Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Henderson Family Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2484813 <3>
    • Taylor Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Powell Family Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Kenansville had a population of 291 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Kenansville had a population of 850 people.

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

  • Magnolia
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Magnolia is located in Duplin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 951 people
  • Sarecta
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Sarecta is located in Duplin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarecta
  • Warsaw
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Hallsville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Hallsville is located in Duplin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsville
  • Rose Hill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Leon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Leon is located in Duplin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
  • Bowdens
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bowdens is located in Duplin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowdens
  • Beulaville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Chinquapin
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Chinquapin is located in Duplin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinquapin
  • Turkey
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Teachey
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Teachey is located in Duplin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teachey
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 430 people
  • Resaca
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Resaca is located in Duplin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Resaca
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Albertson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Albertson is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albertson
    • Outlaws Bridge
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Outlaws Bridge is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Outlaws Bridge
    • Elliott
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Elliott is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Kenansville ...

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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kenansville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Kenansville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Kenansville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Kenansville.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<2> of Kenansville.

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 Kenansville:

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