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 Nella (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 Nella. 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.
Nella 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 Nella. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Nella:
- Ashe County (The home county of Nella)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nella, with the one closest to Nella listed first.
- Sturgills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Sturgills is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgills
- Brandon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Brandon is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
- Apple Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Apple Grove is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Helton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Helton is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helton
- Comet
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Comet is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comet
- Lansing
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Warrensville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Roten
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Roten is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roten
- Grayson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Grayson is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
- Grassy Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Weavers Ford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Weavers Ford is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weavers Ford
- Crumpler
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ashland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ashland is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nella, with the one closest to Nella listed first.
- Topia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Topia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
- Piney Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Scottville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Amelia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Laurel Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Sparta
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Glade Valley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hooker
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Ennice
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Avery County
- Mount Gilead
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Gilead is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
- Caldwell County
- Blowing Rock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Watauga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nella, with the one closest to Nella listed first.
- Zionville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Moretz
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Moretz is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moretz
- Norris ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Norris is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Mabel
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mabel is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
- Deep Gap
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Sands
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Sands is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sands
- Laxon
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Laxon is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laxon
- Rutherwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Rutherwood is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherwood
- Stony Fork
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Stony Fork is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Fork
- Boone
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Sugar Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Vilas
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bamboo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Bamboo is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamboo
- Wilkes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nella, with the one closest to Nella listed first.
- McGrady
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- McGrady is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGrady
- Springfield ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Springfield is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Wilbar
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wilbar is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbar
- Abshers
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Abshers is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abshers
- Maple Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Maple Springs is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Springs
- Dehart
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dehart is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dehart
- Moxley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Moxley is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moxley
- Hendrix ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Hendrix is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrix
- Mulberry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mulberry is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Purlear
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Purlear is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purlear
- Carter County (TN)
- Buladeen
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Buladeen is located in Carter County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buladeen
- Former names for Buladeen:
- Colesville
- Magnetic
- Johnson County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nella, with the one closest to Nella listed first.
- Dowell ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dowell is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
- Estimated population in 2014: 364 people
- Shingletown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Shingletown is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shingletown
- Fuller
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Fuller is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Mountain City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Trade
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Vaughtsville ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Vaughtsville is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughtsville
- Winchester
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Winchester is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Estimated population in 2014: 8,547 people
- High Health ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- High Health is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Health
- Norris
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Norris is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,652 people
- Butler
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sullivan County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nella, with the one closest to Nella listed first.
- Fishdam ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Fishdam is located in Sullivan County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishdam
- Holston Valley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Holston Valley is located in Sullivan County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holston Valley
- Grayson County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nella, with the one closest to Nella listed first.
- Whitetop
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rugby
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rugby is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Trout Dale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mouth-of-Wilson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Flat Ridge
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Flat Ridge is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Ridge
- Bridle Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Independence
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Elk Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Baywood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Baywood is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
- Smyth County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nella, with the one closest to Nella listed first.
- Adwolf
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Adwolf is located in Smyth County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adwolf
- Sugar Grove
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Seven Mile Ford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Seven Mile Ford is located in Smyth County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Mile Ford
- Chilhowie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Marion
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Mount Carmel
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Atkins
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Ellendale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Ellendale is located in Smyth County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Saltville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Broadford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Broadford is located in Smyth County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
- Allison Gap
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Allison Gap is located in Smyth County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allison Gap
- Cardwell Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cardwell Town is located in Smyth County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardwell Town
- Tazewell County (VA)
- Asberrys
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Asberrys is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asberrys
- Washington County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nella, with the one closest to Nella listed first.
- Green Cove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Green Cove is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Cove
- Masada
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Masada is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masada
- Loves Mill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Loves Mill is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loves Mill
- Damascus
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Friendship
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Friendship is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Lodi
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lodi is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Drowning Ford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Drowning Ford is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drowning Ford
- Fleet
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Glade Spring
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Alvarado
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Alvarado is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Watauga
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Watauga is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watauga
- Clinchburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Clinchburg is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinchburg
- Abingdon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Abingdon is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,856 people
- Wythe County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nella, with the one closest to Nella listed first.
- Rural Retreat
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Speedwell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Rowe Crossroads
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
- Crockett
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Nella, see our County-by-County Page for Nella.
Cemeteries Near Nella ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Nella.
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 Nella - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Nella covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Nella, with the one closest to Nella listed first.
- Nella Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Ham Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Graham Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Finley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Perry Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Davis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Tucker Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Waters Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Brooks Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Sullivan Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Hurley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Blevins Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Continue List (656 more) ...
- Osborne Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Davis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Perry Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles 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.<2>
While we didn't find Nella in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Nella.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Nella, with the one closest to Nella listed first.
- Sturgills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Sturgills is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgills
- Apple Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Apple Grove is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Helton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Helton is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helton
- Whitetop
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Comet
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Comet is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comet
- Lansing
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Rugby
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rugby is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Green Cove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Green Cove is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Cove
- Grayson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Grayson is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
- Roten
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Roten is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roten
- Dresden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Dresden is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresden
- Fig
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Fig is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fig
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Clifton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Clifton is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Grassy Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Crumpler
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Nella. See our List of 1890's Communities around Nella.
Newspapers Published in Nella ...
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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Nella.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Nella, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Nella.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Nella:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Ashe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alleghany County
- Avery County
- Caldwell County
- Watauga County
- Wilkes County
- Carter County
- Johnson County
- Sullivan County
- Grayson County
- Smyth County
- Tazewell County
- Washington County
- Wythe 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> | 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 Nella, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Nella) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |