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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 Murphytown (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 Murphytown. 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 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.

Murphytown is located in Bladen 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 Bladen County: Columbus, Cumberland, Pender, Robeson & Sampson.

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

  • Bladen County     (The home county of Murphytown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murphytown, with the one closest to Murphytown listed first.
    • White Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Kelly
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Kelly is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
    • Mount Olive
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Mount Olive is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
    • Ammon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Ammon is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ammon
    • Elizabethtown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Long View
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Long View is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long View
    • Yorick
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Yorick is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorick
    • Council
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Council is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
    • Rosindale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Rosindale is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosindale
    • Ruskin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Ruskin is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruskin
    • East Arcadia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • East Arcadia is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Arcadia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 470 people
    • White Oak
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Clarkton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Brunswick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murphytown, with the one closest to Murphytown listed first.
    • Northwest
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Northwest is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
    • Sandy Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Sandy Creek is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 319 people
  • Columbus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murphytown, with the one closest to Murphytown listed first.
    • Sandyfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Sandyfield is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandyfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 415 people
    • Rico
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Rico is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rico
    • Armour
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Armour is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armour
    • Bolton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Byrdville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Byrdville is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byrdville
    • Riegelwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Acme
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Acme is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
    • Delco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Lake Waccamaw
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Hallsboro
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Hallsboro is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsboro
    • Redbug
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Redbug is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbug
    • Mount Olive
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Mount Olive is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
    • Whiteville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Cumberland County
    • Stedman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Duplin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murphytown, with the one closest to Murphytown listed first.
    • Harrells
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Harrells is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrells
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
    • Safe
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Safe is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Safe
    • Brices Crossroads
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Brices Crossroads is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brices Crossroads
    • Concord
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Concord is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Duff Creek
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Duff Creek is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duff Creek
    • Teachey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Teachey is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teachey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 430 people
    • Wallace
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Tin City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Tin City is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tin City
    • Rose Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Magnolia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Magnolia is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 951 people
    • Baltic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Baltic is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltic
    • Cartersville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Cartersville is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartersville
    • Carroll
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Carroll is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
  • Pender County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murphytown, with the one closest to Murphytown listed first.
    • Atkinson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Currie
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Willard
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Willard is located in Pender County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
    • Watha
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Watha is located in Pender County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watha
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
    • Burgaw
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Murray Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Murray Town is located in Pender County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray Town
    • Saint Helena
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Saint Helena is located in Pender County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Helena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 428 people
    • Ashton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Ashton is located in Pender County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
  • Sampson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murphytown, with the one closest to Murphytown listed first.
    • Tomahawk
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Tomahawk is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomahawk
    • Kerr
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Kerr is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerr
    • Ivanhoe
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Ivanhoe is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
    • Garland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Ingold
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Ingold is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingold
    • Delway
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Delway is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delway
    • McDaniels
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • McDaniels is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDaniels
    • Beulah
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Beulah is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
    • Snow Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Snow Hill is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
    • Bonnetsville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Bonnetsville is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnetsville
    • Concord
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Concord is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Roseboro
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Clinton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Murphytown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Murphytown.

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

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

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

  • Newton Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Sutton Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Kerr Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Baylam Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Pridgen Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Cain Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Barnhill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Dyson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Anders Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Bannerman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Herring Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Smith Memorial Gardens Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (233 more) ...
    • Friendship Bible Holiness Church Cemetery
    • Norris Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Dyson Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)

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.<3>

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

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

  • Tomahawk
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Tomahawk is located in Sampson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomahawk
  • Kerr
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Kerr is located in Sampson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerr
  • Clear Run
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Clear Run is located in Sampson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Run
  • Ivanhoe
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Ivanhoe is located in Sampson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
  • Garland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Ingold
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Ingold is located in Sampson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingold
  • Parkersburg
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Parkersburg is located in Sampson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkersburg
  • Taylors Bridge
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Taylors Bridge is located in Sampson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylors Bridge
  • Westbrook
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Westbrook is located in Bladen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook
  • Kelly
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Kelly is located in Bladen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
  • Atkinson
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Elizabethtown
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Colly
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Colly is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colly
    • Waycross
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Waycross is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waycross
    • Ammon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Ammon is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ammon

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

Newspapers Published in Murphytown ...

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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Murphytown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Murphytown, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Murphytown.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Murphytown:

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>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 Murphytown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Murphytown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.