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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 Patterson (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 Patterson. 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 doctors 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.

Patterson is located in Caldwell 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 Caldwell County: Alexander, Burke, Catawba, Watauga & Wilkes.

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

  • Caldwell County     (The home county of Patterson)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Patterson, with the one closest to Patterson listed first.
    • Rufus
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Mulberry
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cilley ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Cilley is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cilley
    • Abingdon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Lenoir
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Emanuel ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Emanuel is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emanuel
    • Cedar Rock
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Collettsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Kings Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Gamewell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Cajah's Mountain
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Cajah's Mountain is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cajah's Mountain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,728 people
    • Adako
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Alexander County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Patterson, with the one closest to Patterson listed first.
    • Ellendale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Little River
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Little River is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River
    • Bethlehem
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Bethlehem is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
    • Liledoun
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Liledoun is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liledoun
    • Taylorsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Isenhour Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Isenhour Park is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isenhour Park
    • Millersville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Millersville is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersville
    • Taylorsville Beach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Taylorsville Beach is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorsville Beach
    • Midway
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Midway is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
    • Vashti
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Fairview Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Fairview Park is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Park
    • Rocky Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Rocky Springs is located in Alexander County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Springs
  • Ashe County
  • Avery County
  • Burke County
  • Catawba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Patterson, with the one closest to Patterson listed first.
    • North Hickory
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • North Hickory is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hickory
    • Long View
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Long View is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long View
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,951 people
    • Viewmont
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Viewmont is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viewmont
    • Hickory
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Saint Stephens
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Saint Stephens is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Stephens
    • Brookford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Brookford is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 381 people
    • Sweetwater
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Sweetwater is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetwater
    • Advent Crossroads
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Meadow Brook Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Meadow Brook Village is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Brook Village
    • Mountain View
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Mountain View is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
    • Fairbrook
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairbrook is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbrook
    • Fairgrove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairgrove is located in Catawba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairgrove
  • Iredell County
    • Brevard ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Brevard is located in Iredell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brevard
  • Lincoln County
    • Laurel Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Laurel Hill is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
  • McDowell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Patterson, with the one closest to Patterson listed first.
    • Ashford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Nebo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Patten
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Mitchell County
  • Watauga County
  • Wilkes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Patterson, with the one closest to Patterson listed first.
    • Ferguson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Hendrix ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Hendrix is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrix
    • Maple Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Maple Springs is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Springs
    • Boomer
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Boomer is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boomer
    • Mount Pleasant
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
    • Purlear
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Purlear is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purlear
    • Adley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Moravian Falls
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Millers Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Stokes ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Stokes is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokes
    • Wilbar
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Cricket
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Cricket is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cricket
  • Carter County (TN)
    • Shell Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Shell Creek is located in Carter County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Creek
      • Estimated population in 2014: 21,037 people
  • Johnson County (TN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Patterson, with the one closest to Patterson listed first.
    • Trade
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Norris
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Norris is located in Johnson County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,652 people

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

Cemeteries Near Patterson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Patterson.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Patterson, with the one closest to Patterson 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Patterson had a population of 49 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Yadkin Valley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Yadkin Valley is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yadkin Valley
  • Lenoir
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Hibriten ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hibriten is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hibriten
  • Emanuel ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Emanuel is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emanuel
  • Cilley ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Cilley is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cilley
  • Buffalo Cove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Buffalo Cove is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Cove
  • Collettsville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Upton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Upton is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upton
  • Globe
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Globe is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
  • Gamewell
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Cedar Valley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Cedar Valley is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Valley
  • Kings Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Darby
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Darby is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darby
    • Penley ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Penley is located in Watauga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penley
    • Muttenz ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Muttenz is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muttenz

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

Newspapers Published in Patterson ...

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 23 newspapers that have been published in the area around Patterson.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Patterson, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Patterson.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Patterson:

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 '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- Patterson) 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 Patterson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.