RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of North Carolina >> Lee County >> Owls Nest >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Owls Nest (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 Owls Nest. 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 Owls Nest ...

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.

While the name of this community is Owls Nest, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Owls Nest may originally have been Owl's Nest.

Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Owls Nest might be written as Owl Nest.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Owls Nest. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Owls Nest.

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 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.

Owls Nest is located in Lee 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 Lee County: Chatham, Harnett & Moore.

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

  • Lee County     (The home county of Owls Nest)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Owls Nest, with the one closest to Owls Nest listed first.
    • Tramway
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Tramway is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tramway
    • Western Hills
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Western Hills is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western Hills
    • Parkwood Estates
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Parkwood Estates is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood Estates
    • Jonesboro Heights
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Jonesboro Heights is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro Heights
    • Saint Andrews
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Saint Andrews is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrews
    • Sanford
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Glenwood Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Glenwood Village is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Village
    • Green Valley Estates
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Wildwood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Wildwood is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
    • Lemon Springs
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Lemon Springs is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemon Springs
    • Quail Ridge
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Quail Ridge is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Ridge
    • San-Lee Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • San-Lee Park is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San-Lee Park
    • White Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • White Hill is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hill
  • Alamance County
    • Mandale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Mandale is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandale
  • Chatham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Owls Nest, with the one closest to Owls Nest listed first.
    • Farmville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Carbonton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Carbonton is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbonton
    • Gulf
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Gulf is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf
    • Goldston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Brickhaven
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Brickhaven is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickhaven
    • Corinth
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Corinth is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
    • Haywood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Haywood is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood
    • Moncure
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bear Creek
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Bear Creek is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
    • Bonlee
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Bonlee is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonlee
    • Pittsboro
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Bennett
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Bynum
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Bynum is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Owls Nest, with the one closest to Owls Nest listed first.
    • Manchester
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Manchester is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
    • Fort Bragg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Spring Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Bonnie Doone
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • North Point Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • North Point Village is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Point Village
    • Shaw
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Shaw is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
      • Shaw has also been known as:
      • Shaw Heights
    • Linden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Harnett County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Owls Nest, with the one closest to Owls Nest listed first.
    • Murchisontown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Murchisontown is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murchisontown
    • Olivia
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Seminole
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Seminole is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminole
    • Ryes
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Ryes is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryes
    • Barbecue
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Barbecue is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barbecue
    • Pineview
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Pineview is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineview
    • Johnsonville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Johnsonville is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonville
    • Boone Trail
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Boone Trail is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boone Trail
    • Spout Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Spout Springs is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spout Springs
    • Mamers
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Mamers is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mamers
    • Cokesbury
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Cokesbury is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokesbury
    • Luart
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Luart is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luart
    • Norrington Crossroads
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Hoke County
    • Ashley Heights
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Ashley Heights is located in Hoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashley Heights
  • Moore County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Owls Nest, with the one closest to Owls Nest listed first.
    • Cameron
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Vass
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Carthage
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Lakeview
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Lakeview is located in Moore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
    • Parkwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Parkwood is located in Moore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
    • Whispering Pines
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Pleasant
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Moore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
    • Harris
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Harris is located in Moore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
    • Southern Pines
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Robbins
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Pinehurst
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Seven Lakes
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Seven Lakes is located in Moore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Lakes
    • Taylortown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Taylortown is located in Moore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylortown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 880 people
  • Orange County
    • Dogwood Acres
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Dogwood Acres is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood Acres
  • Randolph County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Owls Nest, with the one closest to Owls Nest listed first.
    • Coleridge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Coleridge is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleridge
    • Yow Mill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Yow Mill is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yow Mill
    • Staley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Wake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Owls Nest, with the one closest to Owls Nest listed first.
    • Hollemans Crossroads
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Hollemans Crossroads is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollemans Crossroads
      • Former names for Hollemans Crossroads:
      • Collins
      • Enno
    • New Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Wilbon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Wilbon is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbon
    • Holly Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Fuquay - Varina
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Kennebec
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Kennebec is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennebec
    • Apex
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Apex is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apex
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 64,388 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Apex <2>
    • Indian Trail
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Indian Trail is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Trail
    • Macks Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Macks Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macks Village

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

Cemeteries Near Owls Nest ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Owls Nest.

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 Owls Nest - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Owls Nest, with the one closest to Owls Nest 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.<5>

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

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

  • Cameron
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Gulf
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Gulf is located in Chatham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf
  • Goldston
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Carthage
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Spout Springs
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Spout Springs is located in Harnett County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spout Springs
  • Corinth
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Corinth is located in Chatham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
  • Haywood
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Haywood is located in Chatham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood
  • Moncure
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Merry Oaks
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Merry Oaks is located in Chatham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merry Oaks
  • Pittsboro
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Southern Pines
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Manly
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Manly is located in Moore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manly
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Manchester
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Manchester is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
    • New Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Bynum
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Bynum is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum

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

Newspapers Published in Owls Nest ...

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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Owls Nest.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Owls Nest, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Owls Nest.

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 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 Owls Nest:

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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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- Owls Nest) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<5>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 Owls Nest, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.