Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Penley. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Penley to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Penley, please Contact Us.
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 Penley (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 Penley. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Penley is historic, it would have been located within present day Watauga 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 Watauga County: Ashe, Avery, Caldwell, Wilkes & Johnson (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Penley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Penley:
- Watauga County (The home county of Penley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Penley, with the one closest to Penley listed first.
- Bamboo
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bamboo is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamboo
- Laxon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Laxon is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laxon
- Rutherwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Rutherwood is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherwood
- Stony Fork
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stony Fork is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Fork
- Deep Gap
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Boone
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Moretz
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Moretz is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moretz
- Sands
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sands is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sands
- Norris ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Norris is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Shulls Mill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Shulls Mill is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shulls Mill
- Foscoe
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Valle Crucis
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Alexander County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penley, with the one closest to Penley listed first.
- Ellendale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ellendale is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Little River
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Little River is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River
- Bethlehem
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bethlehem is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
- Liledoun
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Liledoun is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liledoun
- Taylorsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Vashti
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Vashti is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vashti
- Isenhour Park
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Isenhour Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isenhour Park
- Millersville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Millersville is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersville
- Rocky Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rocky Springs is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Springs
- Midway
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Midway is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Taylorsville Beach
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Taylorsville Beach is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorsville Beach
- Fairview Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fairview Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Park
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penley, with the one closest to Penley listed first.
- Laurel Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Scottville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Topia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Topia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
- Ashe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penley, with the one closest to Penley listed first.
- Brownwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Brownwood is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownwood
- Yates
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Yates is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates
- Fleetwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Todd
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Obids
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Obids is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obids
- Glendale Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- West Jefferson
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Orion
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Orion is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
- Creston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Jefferson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Wagoner
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wagoner is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagoner
- Ashland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Ashland is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Avery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penley, with the one closest to Penley listed first.
- Seven Devils
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Grandfather
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Grandfather is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandfather
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
- Banner Elk
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Sugar Mountain
(17 miles [27.4 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
- Linville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Beech Mountain
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Montezuma
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Montezuma is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
- Newland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Pineola
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Mount Gilead
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Gilead is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
- Vale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Vale is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Whaley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Whaley is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whaley
- Burke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penley, with the one closest to Penley listed first.
- Jonas Ridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Chesterfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Chesterfield is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield
- Drexel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Drexel is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drexel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,861 people
- Rhodhiss
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Rutherford College
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Connelly Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Morganton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Valdese
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Icard
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Calvin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Calvin is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvin
- Hildebran
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Linville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Linville is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linville
- Caldwell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penley, with the one closest to Penley listed first.
- Blowing Rock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cilley ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cilley is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cilley
- Mulberry
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mulberry is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Patterson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Patterson is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Rufus
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rufus is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rufus
- Emanuel ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Emanuel is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emanuel
- Kings Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Kings Creek is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Creek
- Cedar Rock
(14 miles [22.5 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
- Abingdon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Abingdon is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Lenoir
(15 miles [24.1 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 <2>
- Collettsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mortimer ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mortimer is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mortimer
- Catawba County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penley, with the one closest to Penley listed first.
- North Hickory
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- North Hickory is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hickory
- Viewmont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Viewmont is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viewmont
- Long View
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Long View is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long View
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,951 people
- Hickory
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hickory is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41,473 people
- Saint Stephens
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Stephens is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Stephens
- McDowell County
- Ashford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ashford is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashford
- Mitchell County
- Altapass
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Altapass is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altapass
- Wilkes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penley, with the one closest to Penley listed first.
- Hendrix ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Hendrix is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrix
- Maple Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Maple Springs is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Springs
- Ferguson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Mount Pleasant
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Purlear
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Purlear is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purlear
- Wilbar
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wilbar is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbar
- Boomer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Boomer is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boomer
- Millers Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Adley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Adley is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adley
- Stokes ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Stokes is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokes
- Cricket
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Cricket is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cricket
- Moravian Falls
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Carter County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Penley, with the one closest to Penley listed first.
- Shell Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Shell Creek is located in Carter County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Creek
- Estimated population in 2014: 21,037 people
- Roan Mountain
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Heaton Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Heaton Creek is located in Carter County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heaton Creek
- Fish Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fish Springs is located in Carter County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Springs
- Burbank
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Burbank is located in Carter County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burbank
- Johnson County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Penley, with the one closest to Penley listed first.
- Trade
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Norris
(22 miles [35.4 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
- Vaughtsville ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Vaughtsville is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughtsville
- Dowell ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Dowell is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
- Estimated population in 2014: 364 people
- Mountain City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- High Health ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- High Health is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Health
- Butler
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fuller
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fuller is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Penley, see our County-by-County Page for Penley.
Cemeteries Near Penley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Penley.
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 Penley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Penley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Penley, with the one closest to Penley listed first.
- Bolick Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel Fork Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Moore Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Craig Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Greene Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Herman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Harrison Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Cook Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Elrod Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Green Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Laytown Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stony Fork Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (473 more) ...
- Frye Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bolick Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.
Penley itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Penley, with the one closest to Penley listed first.
- Buffalo Cove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Buffalo Cove is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Cove
- Darby
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Darby is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darby
- Aho
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Aho is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aho
- Triplett
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Triplett is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triplett
- Bamboo
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bamboo is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamboo
- Rutherwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Rutherwood is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherwood
- Mount Zion
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mount Zion is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Stony Fork
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stony Fork is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Fork
- Blowing Rock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Upton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Upton is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upton
- Yadkin Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Yadkin Valley is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yadkin Valley
- Cilley ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cilley is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cilley
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Hendrix ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Hendrix is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrix
- Boone
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Patterson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Patterson is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Penley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Penley.
Newspapers Published in Penley ...
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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Penley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Penley, 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 Penley.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Penley:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Watauga County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alexander County
- Alleghany County
- Ashe County
- Avery County
- Burke County
- Caldwell County
- Catawba County
- McDowell County
- Mitchell County
- Wilkes County
- Carter County
- Johnson County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for North Carolina
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Penley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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- Penley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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. |