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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 Rock Rest (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 Rock Rest. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Rock Rest is located in Union County.

To see how the shape of North Carolina's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Union County: Anson, Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, Stanly, Chesterfield (SC) & Lancaster (SC).

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

  • Union County     (The home county of Rock Rest)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Rest, with the one closest to Rock Rest listed first.
    • Wingate
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wingate have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingate
      • Wingate is located in Union County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,724 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wingate <2>
    • Carmel Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carmel Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel Village
      • Carmel Village is located in Union County
    • Monroe
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monroe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Monroe is located in Union County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35,668 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Monroe <2>
    • Allens Crossroads
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Marshville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marshville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshville
      • Marshville is located in Union County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,835 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marshville <2>
    • Altan
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Trinity
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trinity have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity
      • Trinity is located in Union County
    • Unionville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Unionville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
      • Unionville is located in Union County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,344 people
    • Fairfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fairfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
      • Fairfield is located in Union County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fairfield
      • From Rock Rest to Fairfield
    • Mineral Springs
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
      • Mineral Springs is located in Union County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,171 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mineral Springs <2>
    • Lake Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jackson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jackson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
      • Jackson is located in Union County
  • Anson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Rest, with the one closest to Rock Rest listed first.
    • Peachland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peachland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peachland
      • Peachland is located in Anson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 402 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peachland <2>
    • Mineral Springs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Polkton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Burnsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Sugar Town
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Town
      • Sugar Town is located in Anson County
    • Roper ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roper have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roper
      • Roper is located in Anson County
    • Wadesboro
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Ansonville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ansonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ansonville
      • Ansonville is located in Anson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 586 people
    • Lilesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Morven
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • McFarlan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McFarlan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McFarlan
      • McFarlan is located in Anson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
  • Cabarrus County
  • Mecklenburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Rest, with the one closest to Rock Rest listed first.
    • Weddington
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weddington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weddington
      • Weddington is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,389 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Weddington <2>
    • Matthews
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Mint Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Providence ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Providence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
      • Providence is located in Mecklenburg County
    • Allen
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Pineville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Chantilly
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Belmont
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belmont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
      • Belmont is located in Mecklenburg County
    • Charlotte
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Newell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
      • Newell is located in Mecklenburg County
    • Yorkmont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
      • Greenville is located in Mecklenburg County
  • Richmond County
    • Mangum
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mangum. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mangum
      • Mangum is located in Richmond County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mangum
      • From Rock Rest to Mangum
  • Stanly County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Rest, with the one closest to Rock Rest listed first.
    • Stanfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanfield
      • Stanfield is located in Stanly County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,552 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stanfield <2>
    • Oakboro
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakboro
      • Oakboro is located in Stanly County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,928 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakboro <2>
    • Locust
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locust have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust
      • Locust is located in Stanly County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,270 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Locust <2>
    • Red Cross
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Cross have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Cross
      • Red Cross is located in Stanly County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 769 people
    • Lambert
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Bloomington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Norwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
      • Norwood is located in Stanly County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,469 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwood <2>
    • Cedar Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Village
      • Cedar Village is located in Stanly County
    • Plyer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Plyer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plyer
      • Plyer is located in Stanly County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Plyer
      • From Rock Rest to Plyer
  • Chester County (SC)
  • Chesterfield County (SC)
  • Kershaw County (SC)
  • Lancaster County (SC)
  • York County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Rest, with the one closest to Rock Rest listed first.
    • Catawba
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Fort Mill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Roddey
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Lesslie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lesslie. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lesslie
      • Lesslie is located in York County (SC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lesslie
      • From Rock Rest to Lesslie
    • Riverview
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
      • Riverview is located in York County (SC)
    • India Hook
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for India Hook. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for India Hook
      • India Hook is located in York County (SC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to India Hook
      • From Rock Rest to India Hook
    • Rock Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Rock Rest ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rock Rest.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rock Rest, with the one closest to Rock Rest 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Rock Rest had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Monroe
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monroe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
    • Monroe is located in Union County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 35,668 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Monroe <2>
  • Altan
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Unionville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Unionville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
    • Unionville is located in Union County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,344 people
  • Walkersville ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walkersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkersville
    • Walkersville is located in Union County
  • Stouts
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stouts have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stouts
    • Stouts is located in Union County
  • Dudley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dudley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
    • Dudley is located in Chesterfield County (SC)
  • Peachland
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peachland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peachland
    • Peachland is located in Anson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 402 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peachland <2>
  • Tradesville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tradesville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tradesville
    • Tradesville is located in Lancaster County (SC)
  • Olive Branch
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olive Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olive Branch
    • Olive Branch is located in Union County
  • Indian Trail
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Waxhaw
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Hornsboro
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hornsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornsboro
    • Hornsboro is located in Chesterfield County (SC)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Hoods ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoods have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoods
      • Hoods is located in Mecklenburg County
    • Wolfville ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolfville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfville
      • Wolfville is located in Union County
    • New Cut
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Cut have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Cut
      • New Cut is located in Lancaster County (SC)

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

Newspapers Published in Rock Rest ...

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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rock Rest.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rock Rest, 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 Rock Rest.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Rock Rest:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rock Rest. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Union County: www.co.union.nc.us/

The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rock Rest) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rock Rest. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.9554, Longitude: -80.4852    
<5>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.
<6>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 Rock Rest, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025