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 Oval (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 Oval. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
Oval 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 Oval. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oval:
- Ashe County (The home county of Oval)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oval, with the one closest to Oval listed first.
- Fleetwood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Yates
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Yates is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates
- West Jefferson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Obids
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Obids is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obids
- Orion
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Orion is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
- Brownwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Brownwood is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownwood
- Glendale Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Jefferson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Todd
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Wagoner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wagoner is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagoner
- Warrensville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Creston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Alexander County
- Ellendale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ellendale is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oval, with the one closest to Oval listed first.
- Laurel Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Scottville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Topia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Topia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
- Piney Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Amelia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Sparta
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Glade Valley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Roaring Gap
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hooker
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Avery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oval, with the one closest to Oval listed first.
- Seven Devils
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Beech Mountain
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Mount Gilead
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Mount Gilead is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
- Banner Elk
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Grandfather
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Grandfather is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandfather
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
- Sugar Mountain
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sugar Mountain is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Mountain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Whaley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Whaley is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whaley
- Linville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Elk Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Montezuma
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Montezuma is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
- Newland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pineola
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Caldwell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oval, with the one closest to Oval listed first.
- Blowing Rock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cilley ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Cilley is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cilley
- Mulberry
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mulberry is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Kings Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Kings Creek is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Creek
- Patterson
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Patterson is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Rufus
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Rufus is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rufus
- Cedar Rock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Cedar Rock is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Cedar Rock has also been known as:
- Cedar Rock village
- Emanuel ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Emanuel is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emanuel
- Draco
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Draco is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draco
- Lenoir
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Lenoir is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenoir
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,911 people
- Former name for Lenoir:
- Tucker's Barn
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lenoir <1>
- Mortimer ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mortimer is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mortimer
- Abingdon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Abingdon is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Watauga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oval, with the one closest to Oval listed first.
- Deep Gap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Laxon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Laxon is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laxon
- Stony Fork
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Stony Fork is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Fork
- Moretz
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Moretz is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moretz
- Rutherwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rutherwood is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherwood
- Norris ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Norris is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Sands
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sands is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sands
- Bamboo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bamboo is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamboo
- Boone
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Zionville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Mabel
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Mabel is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
- Vilas
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Wilkes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oval, with the one closest to Oval listed first.
- Maple Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Maple Springs is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Springs
- Wilbar
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Wilbar is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbar
- McGrady
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- McGrady is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGrady
- Hendrix ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Hendrix is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrix
- Mount Pleasant
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Purlear
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Purlear is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purlear
- Springfield ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Springfield is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Millers Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mulberry
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Mulberry is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Ferguson
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Dehart
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Dehart is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dehart
- Cricket
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cricket is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cricket
- Carter County (TN)
- Buladeen
(30 miles [48.3 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 Oval, with the one closest to Oval listed first.
- Trade
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Dowell ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dowell is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
- Estimated population in 2014: 364 people
- Mountain City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Vaughtsville ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Vaughtsville is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughtsville
- Fuller
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fuller is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Shingletown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Shingletown is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shingletown
- Norris
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Norris is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,652 people
- High Health ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- High Health is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Health
- Winchester
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Winchester is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Estimated population in 2014: 8,547 people
- Butler
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Grayson County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oval, with the one closest to Oval listed first.
- Rugby
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Rugby is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Mouth-of-Wilson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Whitetop
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bridle Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Trout Dale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Flat Ridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Flat Ridge is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Ridge
- Independence
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Washington County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oval, with the one closest to Oval listed first.
- Green Cove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Green Cove is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Cove
- Damascus
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Masada
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Masada is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masada
- Drowning Ford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Drowning Ford is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drowning Ford
- Loves Mill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Loves Mill is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loves Mill
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oval, see our County-by-County Page for Oval.
Cemeteries Near Oval ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oval.
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 Oval - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oval covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oval, with the one closest to Oval listed first.
- Edear Parsons Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Walters - Jacobs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wallace Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Stony Fork Baptist Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Ashelawn Memorial Gardens
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Milam Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Old Hopewell Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Greene Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gragg Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Greer Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Spencer Ashley Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer Ashley Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Spencer Ashley Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the north of Warrensville.
- The Spencer Ashley Cemetery has also been known as:
- Ashley Family Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2354164 <2>
- Hodges Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (527 more) ...
- Brown Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Horton Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Vannoy Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
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>
While we didn't find Oval in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oval.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oval, with the one closest to Oval listed first.
- Baldwin
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Baldwin is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Beaver Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Beaver Creek is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Creek
- Obids
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Obids is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obids
- Jefferson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Solo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Solo is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solo
- Wagoner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wagoner is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagoner
- Stony Fork
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Stony Fork is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Fork
- Soda Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Soda Hill is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soda Hill
- Rutherwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rutherwood is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherwood
- Triplett
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Triplett is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triplett
- Dresden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Dresden is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresden
- Clifton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Clifton is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Nathans Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Nathans Creek is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nathans Creek
- Meat Camp
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Meat Camp is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meat Camp
- Norris ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Norris is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oval. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oval.
Newspapers Published in Oval ...
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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oval.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oval, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oval.
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 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 Oval:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Ashe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alexander County
- Alleghany County
- Avery County
- Caldwell County
- Watauga County
- Wilkes County
- Carter County
- Johnson County
- Grayson County
- Washington 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> | 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Oval) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Oval, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |