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 Kenly (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 Kenly. 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 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.
Kenly is primarily located in Johnston County. A portion of Kenly extends into Wilson 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 Kenly. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Kenly:
- Johnston County (The home county of Kenly)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kenly, with the one closest to Kenly listed first.
- Beulahtown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Beulahtown is located in Johnston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulahtown
- Micro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Micro is located in Johnston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
- Rains Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Rains Crossroads is located in Johnston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains Crossroads
- Stancils Chapel
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stancils Chapel is located in Johnston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stancils Chapel
- Pine Level
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Redwood Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Redwood Village is located in Johnston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood Village
- Princeton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Selma
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fairfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fairfield is located in Johnston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
- Wilson's Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- 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
- Smithfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- West Smithfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- West Smithfield is located in Johnston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Smithfield
- Archer Lodge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Duplin County
- Calypso
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Calypso is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calypso
- Population from the 2020 Census: 528 people
- Edgecombe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kenly, with the one closest to Kenly listed first.
- Sharpsburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Macclesfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mercer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mercer is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercer
- Cobb Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Cobb Town is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb Town
- Lancaster
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lancaster is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster
- Pinetops
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rocky Mount
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kenly, with the one closest to Kenly listed first.
- Sutton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Sutton is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutton
- Bunn
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kenly, with the one closest to Kenly listed first.
- Speights Bridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Speights Bridge is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speights Bridge
- Contentnea
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Contentnea is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Contentnea
- Walstonburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Walstonburg is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walstonburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Jason
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Jason is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jason
- Fieldsboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Fieldsboro is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fieldsboro
- Snow Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Glenfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Glenfield is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenfield
- Lenoir County
- La Grange
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Nash County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kenly, with the one closest to Kenly listed first.
- Bailey
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Middlesex
(13 miles [20.9 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
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Rogers Crossroads is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers Crossroads
- High Crossroads
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- High Crossroads is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Crossroads
- Mount Pleasant
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Murraytown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Murraytown is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murraytown
- Union Hope
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Union Hope is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hope
- Floods Chapel
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Floods Chapel is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floods Chapel
- Samaria
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Samaria is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
- Stanhope
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Stanhope is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanhope
- Cliftonville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Cliftonville is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliftonville
- Frazier Crossroads
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Frazier Crossroads is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Crossroads
- Rocky Cross
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Rocky Cross is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Cross
- Pitt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kenly, with the one closest to Kenly listed first.
- Fountain
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Farmville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Farmville is located in Pitt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,747 people
- Sampson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kenly, with the one closest to Kenly listed first.
- Newton Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Blackmans Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Blackmans Mills is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackmans Mills
- Wake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kenly, with the one closest to Kenly listed first.
- Wendell
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Zebulon
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Eagle Rock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Eagle Rock is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Rock
- Shotwell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Shotwell is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shotwell
- Knightdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Auburn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Auburn is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
- Emerald Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Emerald Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Village
- Garner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Rolesville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Skycrest Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Skycrest Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skycrest Village
- Timberlake
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Timberlake is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Hopedale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Hopedale is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopedale
- Hertford Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hertford Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hertford Village
- Wayne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kenly, with the one closest to Kenly listed first.
- Nahunta
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Nahunta is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nahunta
- Fremont
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Pikeville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Raynor Town
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Raynor Town is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raynor Town
- Eureka
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Eureka is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
- Goldsboro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Saulston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Saulston is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saulston
- Mar-Mac Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Mar-Mac Village is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mar-Mac Village
- Mar-Mac
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Mar-Mac is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mar-Mac
- Genoa
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Genoa is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genoa
- Berkeley Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Berkeley Village is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkeley Village
- Grantham
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Grantham is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantham
- Brogden
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Brogden is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brogden
- Wilson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kenly, with the one closest to Kenly listed first.
- Lucama
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Scotts
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Scotts is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts
- Black Creek
(11 miles [17.7 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
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Eastwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Eastwood is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood
- Spring Lake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Lake is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
- Wilson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Stantonsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Saratoga
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Saratoga is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saratoga
- Population from the 2020 Census: 408 people
- Elm City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Kenly, see our County-by-County Page for Kenly.
Cemeteries Near Kenly ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kenly.
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 Kenly - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Kenly covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Kenly, with the one closest to Kenly listed first.
- Woodard - Atkinson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodard - Atkinson Cemetery
- The Woodard - Atkinson Cemetery has also been known as:
- J.B. Woodard Cemetery
- Jordan Godwin Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hinnant Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinnant Family Cemetery
- The Hinnant Family Cemetery has also been known as:
- Needham B. Hinnant Family Cemetery
- Shoeheel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Holloman Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holloman Family Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Holloman Family Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the east of Pine Level.
- The Holloman Family Cemetery has also been known as:
- George B. Holloman Family Cemetery
- Hicks Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Hicks Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the south of Stancils Chapel.
- The Hicks Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hicks Family Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2524837 <3>
- Edgerton Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Batten Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Brown Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Batten Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Brown Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (214 more) ...
- Crocker Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bizzell Grove Memorial Gardens
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- St. James Church of Christ Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
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 Kenly had a population of 137 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Kenly had a population of 1,624 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Kenly, with the one closest to Kenly listed first.
- Bagley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bagley is located in Johnston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagley
- Micro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Micro is located in Johnston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
- Pinkney
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pinkney is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinkney
- Lucama
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Level
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Selma
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Princeton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Fremont
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Oliver
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Oliver is located in Johnston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliver
- Pikeville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Connor
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Connor is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Connor
- Black Creek
(11 miles [17.7 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
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Wilson's Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- 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
- Smithfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Eureka
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Eureka is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Kenly. See our List of 1890's Communities around Kenly.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Kenly ...
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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kenly.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Kenly. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Kenly and those printed in the larger area surrounding Kenly.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<2> of Kenly.
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 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 Kenly:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Johnston County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Duplin County
- Edgecombe County
- Franklin County
- Greene County
- Lenoir County
- Nash County
- Pitt County
- Sampson County
- Wake County
- Wayne County
- Wilson 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 from Point A (ie- Kenly) 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 Kenly, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |