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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 Rocky Mount (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 Rocky Mount. 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 Rocky Mount ...

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 have occurred.

Another variation: Rockymount.

  • A typical abbreviation for Rocky Mount: Rocky Mt. (or less commonly used: Rocky Mnt.)

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 and doctors 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.

Rocky Mount is primarily located in Edgecombe County. A portion of Rocky Mount extends into Nash 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 Edgecombe County: Halifax, Martin, Nash, Pitt & Wilson.

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

  • Edgecombe County     (The home county of Rocky Mount)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Mount, with the one closest to Rocky Mount listed first.
    • Sharpsburg
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Battleboro
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Hartsboro
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hartsboro. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsboro
      • Hartsboro is located in Edgecombe County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hartsboro
      • From Rocky Mount to Hartsboro
    • Hartsease
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hartsease. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsease
      • Hartsease is located in Edgecombe County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hartsease
      • From Rocky Mount to Hartsease
    • Lancaster
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lancaster have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster
      • Lancaster is located in Edgecombe County
    • Mercer
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mercer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercer
      • Mercer is located in Edgecombe County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mercer
      • From Rocky Mount to Mercer
    • Leggett
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Summerfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summerfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield
      • Summerfield is located in Edgecombe County
    • Whitakers
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitakers have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitakers
      • Whitakers is located in Edgecombe County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 700 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitakers <1>
    • Gethsemane
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Henrietta
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henrietta have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
      • Henrietta is located in Edgecombe County
    • Pinetops
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairview
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairview have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
      • Fairview is located in Edgecombe County
  • Franklin County
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Mount, with the one closest to Rocky Mount listed first.
    • Fieldsboro
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Walstonburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Speights Bridge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Halifax County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Mount, with the one closest to Rocky Mount listed first.
    • White Oak
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
      • White Oak is located in Halifax County
    • Enfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Ringwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ringwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringwood
      • Ringwood is located in Halifax County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ringwood
      • From Rocky Mount to Ringwood
    • Roseneath
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Heathsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Hobgood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hobgood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobgood
      • Hobgood is located in Halifax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
    • Brinkleyville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Hollister
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Scotland Neck
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Braswells Crossroads
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Palmyra
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Palmyra. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
      • Palmyra is located in Halifax County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Palmyra
      • From Rocky Mount to Palmyra
    • Allen Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Tillery
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tillery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillery
      • Tillery is located in Halifax County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tillery <1>
  • Johnston County
    • Kenly
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kenly have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenly
      • Kenly is located in Johnston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,624 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kenly <1>
  • Martin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Mount, with the one closest to Rocky Mount listed first.
    • Oak City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak City
      • Oak City is located in Martin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oak City <1>
    • Hassell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Parmele
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parmele have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parmele
      • Parmele is located in Martin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 253 people
  • Nash County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Mount, with the one closest to Rocky Mount listed first.
    • North Green
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Green have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Green
      • North Green is located in Nash County
    • Ashburk
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashburk have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashburk
      • Ashburk is located in Nash County
    • Easonburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Easonburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easonburg
      • Easonburg is located in Nash County
    • Halifax Crossing
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halifax Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halifax Crossing
      • Halifax Crossing is located in Nash County
    • Dortches
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dortches have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dortches
      • Dortches is located in Nash County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 964 people
    • Joyners Crossing
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Joyners Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joyners Crossing
      • Joyners Crossing is located in Nash County
    • Westry
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Drake
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Drake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drake
      • Drake is located in Nash County
    • Langley Crossroads
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Langley Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langley Crossroads
      • Langley Crossroads is located in Nash County
    • Regency Estates
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Regency Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regency Estates
      • Regency Estates is located in Nash County
    • Snells Crossroads
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snells Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snells Crossroads
      • Snells Crossroads is located in Nash County
    • Gold Rock
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Nashville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Pitt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Mount, with the one closest to Rocky Mount listed first.
    • Fountain
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fountain have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain
      • Fountain is located in Pitt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 439 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fountain <1>
    • Falkland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Falkland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falkland
      • Falkland is located in Pitt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
    • Bethel
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bethel have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
      • Bethel is located in Pitt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,614 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bethel <1>
    • Farmville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Whitehurst
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Wake County
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Mount, with the one closest to Rocky Mount listed first.
    • Arcola
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Lickskillet
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Wayne County
  • Wilson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Mount, with the one closest to Rocky Mount listed first.
    • Elm City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Spring Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
      • Spring Lake is located in Wilson County
    • Wilson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Eastwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Sims
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Saratoga
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Scotts
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotts have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts
      • Scotts is located in Wilson County
    • Black Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
      • Black Creek is located in Wilson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 767 people
    • Stantonsburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Lucama
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lucama have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucama
      • Lucama is located in Wilson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,155 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lucama <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Rocky Mount ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rocky Mount.

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 Rocky Mount covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rocky Mount, with the one closest to Rocky Mount 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rocky Mount had a population of 816 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Rocky Mount had a population of 53,689 people.

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

  • Sharpsburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Penelo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Penelo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penelo
    • Penelo is located in Edgecombe County
  • Battleboro
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Hartsboro
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hartsboro. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsboro
    • Hartsboro is located in Edgecombe County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Hartsboro
    • From Rocky Mount to Hartsboro
  • Gold Rock
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Red Oak
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
    • Red Oak is located in Nash County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,492 people
  • Nashville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Elm City
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Saint Lewis
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Lewis have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Lewis
    • Saint Lewis is located in Edgecombe County
  • Leggett
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Whitakers
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitakers have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitakers
    • Whitakers is located in Edgecombe County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 700 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitakers <1>
  • Bridgersville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bridgersville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgersville
    • Bridgersville is located in Wilson County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Hilliardston
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hilliardston have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilliardston
      • Hilliardston is located in Nash County
    • Dukes
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dukes. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dukes
      • Dukes is located in Nash County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dukes
      • From Rocky Mount to Dukes
    • Tarboro
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Rocky Mount ...

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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rocky Mount.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Rocky Mount. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Rocky Mount and those printed in the larger area surrounding Rocky Mount.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<6> of Rocky Mount.

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 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 Rocky Mount:

The official website for Rocky Mount: www.ci.rocky-mount.nc.us/

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

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>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.
<3>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.
<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.
<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 Rocky Mount, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Rocky Mount) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rocky Mount. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.9442, Longitude: -77.7945    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025