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 Pattons Ridge (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 Pattons Ridge. 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 Pattons Ridge ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Pattons Ridge: Pattons Rdg. (or less commonly used: Pattons Rdge. or Pattons Ridg.)
- While the name of this community is Pattons Ridge, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Pattons Ridge may originally have been Patton's Ridge.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Pattons Ridge might be written as Patton Ridge.
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.
Pattons Ridge is located in Wilkes 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 Wilkes County: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Caldwell, Iredell, Surry, Watauga & Yadkin.
Below are the counties that are near Pattons Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pattons Ridge:
- Wilkes County (The home county of Pattons Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pattons Ridge, with the one closest to Pattons Ridge listed first.
- Maple Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Maple Springs is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Springs
- Hendrix ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hendrix is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrix
- Wilbar
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Wilbar is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbar
- Mount Pleasant
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Purlear
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Purlear is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purlear
- Ferguson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Millers Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- McGrady
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- McGrady is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGrady
- Cricket
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Cricket is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cricket
- Mulberry
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Mulberry is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Adley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Adley is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adley
- Stokes ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Stokes is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokes
- Boomer
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Boomer is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boomer
- Alexander County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pattons Ridge, with the one closest to Pattons Ridge listed first.
- Ellendale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ellendale is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Little River
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Little River is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River
- Vashti
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Vashti is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vashti
- Taylorsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Liledoun
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Liledoun is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liledoun
- Rocky Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rocky Springs is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Springs
- Bethlehem
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Bethlehem is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
- Isenhour Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Isenhour Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isenhour Park
- Midway
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Midway is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Fairview Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fairview Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Park
- Hiddenite
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Millersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Millersville is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersville
- Taylorsville Beach
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Taylorsville Beach is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorsville Beach
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pattons Ridge, with the one closest to Pattons Ridge listed first.
- Laurel Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Scottville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Topia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Topia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
- Piney Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Amelia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Sparta
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Glade Valley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Roaring Gap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hooker
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Ashe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pattons Ridge, with the one closest to Pattons Ridge listed first.
- Yates
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Yates is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates
- Obids
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Obids is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obids
- Fleetwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Brownwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Brownwood is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownwood
- Glendale Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Todd
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Orion
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Orion is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
- West Jefferson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Wagoner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Wagoner is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagoner
- Jefferson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Transou
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Transou is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transou
- Warrensville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Creston
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Avery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pattons Ridge, with the one closest to Pattons Ridge listed first.
- Seven Devils
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Banner Elk
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Grandfather
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Grandfather is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandfather
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
- Sugar Mountain
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Sugar Mountain is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Mountain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Beech Mountain
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Linville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Gilead
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Mount Gilead is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
- Whaley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Whaley is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whaley
- Montezuma
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Montezuma is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
- Pineola
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Newland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Vale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Vale is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Elk Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Caldwell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pattons Ridge, with the one closest to Pattons Ridge listed first.
- Cilley ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Cilley is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cilley
- Blowing Rock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Kings Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Kings Creek is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Creek
- Mulberry
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mulberry is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Patterson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Patterson is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Cedar Rock
(19 miles [30.6 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
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Emanuel is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emanuel
- Rufus
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Rufus is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rufus
- Draco
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Draco is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draco
- Lenoir
(22 miles [35.4 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 <2>
- Abingdon
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Abingdon is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Downsville ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Downsville is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downsville
- Collettsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Iredell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pattons Ridge, with the one closest to Pattons Ridge listed first.
- Love Valley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- New Hope ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- New Hope is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Surry County
- Thurmond
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Watauga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pattons Ridge, with the one closest to Pattons Ridge listed first.
- Stony Fork
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Stony Fork is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Fork
- Deep Gap
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Laxon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Laxon is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laxon
- Bamboo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bamboo is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamboo
- Rutherwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Rutherwood is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherwood
- Moretz
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Moretz is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moretz
- Sands
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Sands is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sands
- Norris ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Norris is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Boone
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Shulls Mill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Shulls Mill is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shulls Mill
- Vilas
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Zionville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Foscoe
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Johnson County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pattons Ridge, with the one closest to Pattons Ridge listed first.
- Trade
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Dowell ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Dowell is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
- Estimated population in 2014: 364 people
- Vaughtsville ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Vaughtsville is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughtsville
- Mountain City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Norris
(27 miles [43.5 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
- Fuller
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fuller is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Shingletown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Shingletown is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shingletown
- Grayson County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pattons Ridge, with the one closest to Pattons Ridge listed first.
- Mouth-of-Wilson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Rugby
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Rugby is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Whitetop
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bridle Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Washington County (VA)
- Green Cove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Green Cove is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Cove
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pattons Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Pattons Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Pattons Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pattons Ridge.
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 Pattons Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pattons Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pattons Ridge, with the one closest to Pattons Ridge listed first.
- Stony Fork Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Edear Parsons Family Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Cook Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Horton Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Vannoy Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Laurel Fork Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Laytown Baptist Church Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Sherrill Hill Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Burke Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Greene Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Hodges Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Gragg Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (436 more) ...
- Brown Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Moretz Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Sands Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 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.<5>
While we didn't find Pattons Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pattons Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pattons Ridge, with the one closest to Pattons Ridge listed first.
- Stony Fork
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Stony Fork is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Fork
- Parsonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Parsonville is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsonville
- Mount Zion
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mount Zion is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Maple Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Maple Springs is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Springs
- Hendrix ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hendrix is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrix
- Obids
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Obids is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obids
- Triplett
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Triplett is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triplett
- Ready Branch
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ready Branch is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ready Branch
- Wilbar
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Wilbar is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbar
- Darby
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Darby is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darby
- Bamboo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bamboo is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamboo
- Penley ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Penley is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penley
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Purlear
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Purlear is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purlear
- Baldwin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Baldwin is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Rutherwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Rutherwood is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherwood
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pattons Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pattons Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Pattons Ridge ...
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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pattons Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pattons Ridge, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pattons Ridge.
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 websites either 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 Pattons Ridge:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Wilkes County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alexander County
- Alleghany County
- Ashe County
- Avery County
- Caldwell County
- Iredell County
- Surry County
- Watauga County
- Johnson County
- Grayson County
- Washington County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for North Carolina
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- Pattons Ridge) 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 Pattons Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |