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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 Mitchells Fork (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 Mitchells Fork. 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 Mitchells Fork ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

Another variation: Mitchels Fork.

  • A typical abbreviation for Mitchells Fork: Mitchells Frk.
  • While the name of this community is Mitchells Fork, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Mitchells Fork may originally have been Mitchell's Fork.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Mitchells Fork might be written as Mitchell Fork.

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.

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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Mitchells Fork is located in Gates County.

To see how the shape of North Carolina's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Gates County: Camden, Chowan, Hertford, Pasquotank, Perquimans & Southampton (VA).

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

  • Gates County     (The home county of Mitchells Fork)
  • Bertie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mitchells Fork, with the one closest to Mitchells Fork listed first.
    • Colerain
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Powellsville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Powellsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellsville
      • Powellsville is located in Bertie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 239 people
    • Ashland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Edenhouse
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Askewville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Askewville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Askewville
      • Askewville is located in Bertie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
    • Avoca
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Avoca. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
      • Avoca is located in Bertie County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Avoca
      • From Mitchells Fork to Avoca
    • Merry Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merry Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merry Hill
      • Merry Hill is located in Bertie County
    • Hexlena
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Aulander
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aulander have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aulander
      • Aulander is located in Bertie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 763 people
    • Windsor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Drew
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Drew. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drew
      • Drew is located in Bertie County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Drew
      • From Mitchells Fork to Drew
  • Camden County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mitchells Fork, with the one closest to Mitchells Fork listed first.
    • Horseshoe
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • South Mills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Mills
      • South Mills is located in Camden County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for South Mills <3>
    • Camden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
      • Camden is located in Camden County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Camden <3>
    • Belcross
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Elizabeth City Beach
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elizabeth City Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabeth City Beach
      • Elizabeth City Beach is located in Camden County
  • Chowan County
  • Currituck County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mitchells Fork, with the one closest to Mitchells Fork listed first.
    • Moyock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Shawboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shawboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawboro
      • Shawboro is located in Currituck County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shawboro <3>
    • Snowden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Snowden. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowden
      • Snowden is located in Currituck County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Snowden
      • From Mitchells Fork to Snowden
  • Hertford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mitchells Fork, with the one closest to Mitchells Fork listed first.
    • Harrellsville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrellsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrellsville
      • Harrellsville is located in Hertford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 95 people
    • South Tunis
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Tunis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Tunis
      • South Tunis is located in Hertford County
    • Tunis
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tunis. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunis
      • Tunis is located in Hertford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tunis
      • From Mitchells Fork to Tunis
    • Cofield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cofield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cofield
      • Cofield is located in Hertford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 363 people
    • Tuscarora Beach
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Winton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Ahoskie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Earleys
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Poor Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poor Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poor Town
      • Poor Town is located in Hertford County
    • Como
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Como have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Como
      • Como is located in Hertford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Como <3>
    • Barretts Crossroads
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Murfreesboro
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murfreesboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murfreesboro
      • Murfreesboro is located in Hertford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,868 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Murfreesboro <3>
  • Pasquotank County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mitchells Fork, with the one closest to Mitchells Fork listed first.
    • Nixonton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nixonton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixonton
      • Nixonton is located in Pasquotank County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Nixonton
      • From Mitchells Fork to Nixonton
    • Elizabeth City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Weeksville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Perquimans County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mitchells Fork, with the one closest to Mitchells Fork listed first.
    • Snow Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snow Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
      • Snow Hill is located in Perquimans County
    • Belvidere
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Nicanor
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nicanor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicanor
      • Nicanor is located in Perquimans County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Nicanor
      • From Mitchells Fork to Nicanor
    • Winfall
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Hertford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hertford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hertford
      • Hertford is located in Perquimans County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,143 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hertford <3>
    • Yeopim Station
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bethel ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bethel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
      • Bethel is located in Perquimans County
    • Woodville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Burgess
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Burgess. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burgess
      • Burgess is located in Perquimans County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Burgess
      • From Mitchells Fork to Burgess
    • Snug Harbor
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snug Harbor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snug Harbor
      • Snug Harbor is located in Perquimans County
  • Washington County
  • Chesapeake City (VA)
    • Chesapeake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chesapeake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesapeake
      • Chesapeake is located in Chesapeake City (VA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247,011 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chesapeake <3>
  • Franklin City (VA)
  • Isle of Wight County (VA)
  • Southampton County (VA)
  • Suffolk City (VA)

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

Cemeteries Near Mitchells Fork ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mitchells Fork.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

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.<7>

While we didn't find Mitchells Fork in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Mitchells Fork.

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

  • Mintonsville
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Hobbsville
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Gliden
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gliden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gliden
    • Gliden is located in Chowan County
  • Sandy Cross
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandy Cross have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Cross
    • Sandy Cross is located in Gates County
  • Ryland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Chowan
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chowan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chowan
    • Chowan is located in Chowan County
  • Sunbury
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunbury have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbury
    • Sunbury is located in Gates County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sunbury <3>
  • Belvidere
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Gatesville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gatesville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatesville
    • Gatesville is located in Gates County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 290 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gatesville <3>
  • Nicanor
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nicanor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicanor
    • Nicanor is located in Perquimans County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Nicanor
    • From Mitchells Fork to Nicanor
  • Harrellsville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrellsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrellsville
    • Harrellsville is located in Hertford County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 95 people
  • Wiggins Crossroads
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wiggins Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiggins Crossroads
    • Wiggins Crossroads is located in Gates County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Cisco
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cisco have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisco
      • Cisco is located in Chowan County
    • Willeyton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Colerain
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Mitchells Fork ...

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 Mitchells Fork.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mitchells Fork, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mitchells Fork.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Mitchells Fork:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Mitchells Fork. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Gates County: www.gatescounty.govoffice2.com/

The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<5>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.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Mitchells Fork) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mitchells Fork. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.3501, Longitude: -76.6360    
<7>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 Mitchells Fork, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025