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 Pleasant 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 Pleasant 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 Pleasant 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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Pleasant Ridge: Pleasant Rdg. (or less commonly used: Pleasant Rdge. or Pleasant Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Pleasant Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Pleasant 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.
Pleasant 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 Pleasant Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pleasant Ridge:
- Wilkes County (The home county of Pleasant Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Pleasant Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Lomax
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Lomax is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomax
- Ronda
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Traphill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Clingman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Clingman is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clingman
- Zebra ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Zebra is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zebra
- Brier Creek ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Brier Creek is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brier Creek
- Roaring River
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Roaring River is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaring River
- Moxley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Moxley is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moxley
- Abshers
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Abshers is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abshers
- Dehart
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Dehart is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dehart
- Hays
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Alexander County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Vashti
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Vashti is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vashti
- Rocky Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rocky Springs is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Springs
- Hiddenite
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Roaring Gap
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Glade Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hooker
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Edmonds
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Edmonds is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
- Ennice
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Sparta
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Laurel Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Amelia
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Scottville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Piney Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Topia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Topia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
- Ashe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Transou
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Transou is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transou
- Glendale Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Obids
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Obids is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obids
- Wagoner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Wagoner is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagoner
- Crumpler
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Orion
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Orion is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
- Davie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Pino
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pino is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pino
- Calahaln
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Calahaln is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calahaln
- Forsyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Donnaha
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Donnaha is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnaha
- Heritage Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Heritage Village is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Village
- The Meadows
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- The Meadows is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Meadows
- Dozier
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Dozier is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dozier
- Hunters Trace
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hunters Trace is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Trace
- Grapewood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Grapewood is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapewood
- River Ridge Run
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- River Ridge Run is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Ridge Run
- Dorchester
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Dorchester is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
- King
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Oak Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Oak Park is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
- Cinnamon Ridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cinnamon Ridge is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cinnamon Ridge
- Eaglewood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Eaglewood is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eaglewood
- Iredell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Union Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- New Hope ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- New Hope is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Houstonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Houstonville is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houstonville
- Love Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Harmony
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Olin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Olin is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olin
- Turnersburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Turnersburg is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnersburg
- Stokes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Pinnacle
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Flat Rock
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Flat Rock is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
- Mount Olive
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Mount Olive is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Surry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- State Road
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Thurmond
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Elkin Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Elkin Valley is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkin Valley
- Mulberry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mulberry is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Mountain Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mountain Park is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Park
- Elkin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Zephyr
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Zephyr is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zephyr
- Rusk ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Rusk is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rusk
- Devotion
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Devotion is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devotion
- Fairview
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Fairview is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Dobson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Stony Knoll
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Stony Knoll is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Knoll
- Yadkin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Jonesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Arlington
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Arlington is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Swan Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Swan Creek is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Creek
- Rena
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rena is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rena
- Boonville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cycle
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Cycle is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cycle
- Marler
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Marler is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marler
- Nebo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Nebo is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebo
- Mount Pleasant
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Richmond Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Richmond Hill is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Hill
- Branon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Branon is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branon
- Hamptonville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Carroll County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Lambsburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Drenn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Drenn is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
- Pipers Gap
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
- Cana
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fancy Gap
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Woodlawn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Gladesboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gladesboro is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesboro
- Galax City (VA)
- Galax
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Grayson County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Low Gap
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Low Gap is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Baywood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Baywood is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
- Independence
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fries
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Bridle Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Patrick County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Ararat
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Carters Mill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Carters Mill is located in Patrick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Mill
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pleasant Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Pleasant Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Pleasant Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pleasant 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 Pleasant Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pleasant Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- State Road Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Grassy Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Center Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mulberry Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bessies Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mountain Park Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Park Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mountain Park Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Mountain Park.
- The Mountain Park Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mountain Park Baptist Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2197374 <2>
- Roaring Gap Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Knobs Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Zephyr Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Union Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (427 more) ...
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Walker Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jonesville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Pleasant Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pleasant Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
- State Road
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Benham
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Benham is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benham
- Elkin Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Elkin Valley is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkin Valley
- Elkin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Austin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Austin is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin
- Lomax
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Lomax is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomax
- Jonesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ronda
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rusk ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Rusk is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rusk
- Devotion
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Devotion is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devotion
- Traphill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Clingman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Clingman is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clingman
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Swan Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Swan Creek is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Creek
- Crutchfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Crutchfield is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crutchfield
- Brier Creek ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Brier Creek is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brier Creek
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pleasant Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pleasant Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Pleasant 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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pleasant Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pleasant Ridge, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pleasant 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 Pleasant Ridge:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Wilkes County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alexander County
- Alleghany County
- Ashe County
- Davie County
- Forsyth County
- Iredell County
- Stokes County
- Surry County
- Yadkin County
- Carroll County
- Galax City
- Grayson County
- Patrick 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> | 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 Pleasant Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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- Pleasant Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |