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 Springs (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 Springs. 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 Springs ...
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 Rocky Springs: Rocky Spgs. (or less commonly used: Rocky Spngs. or Rocky Sprngs.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Rocky Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rocky Springs.
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.
Rocky Springs is located in Alexander 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 Alexander County: Caldwell, Catawba, Iredell, Wilkes & Yadkin.
Below are the counties that are near Rocky Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rocky Springs:
- Alexander County (The home county of Rocky Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Springs, with the one closest to Rocky Springs listed first.
- Vashti
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Vashti is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vashti
- Hiddenite
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Midway
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Midway is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Fairview Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Fairview Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Park
- Taylorsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Stony Point
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stony Point is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
- Isenhour Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Isenhour Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isenhour Park
- Liledoun
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Liledoun is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liledoun
- Millersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Millersville is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersville
- Taylorsville Beach
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Taylorsville Beach is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorsville Beach
- Ellendale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Ellendale is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Little River
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Little River is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River
- Bethlehem
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bethlehem is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
- Ashe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Springs, with the one closest to Rocky Springs listed first.
- Obids
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Obids is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obids
- Yates
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Yates is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates
- Burke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Springs, with the one closest to Rocky Springs listed first.
- Rhodhiss
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hildebran
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Icard
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Connelly Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rutherford College
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Valdese
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Caldwell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Springs, with the one closest to Rocky Springs listed first.
- Downsville ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Downsville is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downsville
- Draco
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Draco is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draco
- Kings Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Kings Creek is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Creek
- Concord ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Concord is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Northlakes
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Northlakes is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northlakes
- Cedar Rock
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Cedar Rock is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Cedar Rock has also been known as:
- Cedar Rock village
- Emanuel ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Emanuel is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emanuel
- Granite Falls
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cilley ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Cilley is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cilley
- Sawmills
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Sawmills is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawmills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,156 people
- Hudson
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hudson is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,703 people
- Former name for Hudson:
- Hudsonville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hudson <1>
- Lenoir
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- 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 <1>
- Cajah's Mountain
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Cajah's Mountain is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cajah's Mountain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,728 people
- Catawba County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Springs, with the one closest to Rocky Springs listed first.
- Catfish
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Catfish is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catfish
- Oxford Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Oxford Park is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford Park
- Sunrise Beach
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Sunrise Beach is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Beach
- Catawba
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Claremont
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Saint Stephens
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Stephens is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Stephens
- Conover
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- North Hickory
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- North Hickory is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hickory
- Murrays Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Murrays Hill is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murrays Hill
- Sweetwater
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Sweetwater is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetwater
- Long Island
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Long Island is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Island
- Fairgrove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Fairgrove is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairgrove
- Viewmont
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Viewmont is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viewmont
- Davie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Springs, with the one closest to Rocky Springs listed first.
- Calahaln
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Calahaln is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calahaln
- Pino
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pino is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pino
- Mocksville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Iredell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Springs, with the one closest to Rocky Springs listed first.
- Love Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Brevard ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Brevard is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brevard
- New Hope ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Hope is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Scotts
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Scotts is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts
- Olin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Olin is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olin
- Union Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Turnersburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Turnersburg is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnersburg
- Statesville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Eufola
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Eufola is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eufola
- Harmony
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Belmont
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Belmont is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Houstonville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Houstonville is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houstonville
- Barium Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Barium Springs is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barium Springs
- Lincoln County
- Denver
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Rowan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Springs, with the one closest to Rocky Springs listed first.
- Pittsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Pittsburg is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
- Needmore
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Needmore is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
- Mount Vernon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Vernon is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Cleveland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bear Poplar
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bear Poplar is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Poplar
- Mount Ulla
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Barber
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Barber is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barber
- Surry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Springs, with the one closest to Rocky Springs listed first.
- Elkin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Elkin Valley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Elkin Valley is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkin Valley
- State Road
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Thurmond
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Mulberry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mulberry is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Rusk ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rusk is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rusk
- Watauga County
- Stony Fork
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stony Fork is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Fork
- Wilkes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Springs, with the one closest to Rocky Springs listed first.
- Zimmerman ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Zimmerman is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerman
- Boomer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Boomer is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boomer
- Moravian Falls
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wilkesboro
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Fletcher ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Fletcher is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
- North Wilkesboro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Adley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Adley is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adley
- Stokes ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stokes is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokes
- Henderson ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Henderson is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson
- New Castle ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- New Castle is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Castle
- Cricket
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Cricket is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cricket
- Brier Creek ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Brier Creek is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brier Creek
- Fairplains
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Fairplains is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplains
- Yadkin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Springs, with the one closest to Rocky Springs listed first.
- Windsors Crossroads
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Windsors Crossroads is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsors Crossroads
- Cycle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Cycle is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cycle
- Marler
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Marler is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marler
- Swan Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Swan Creek is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Creek
- Hamptonville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Footville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Footville is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Footville
- Branon
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Branon is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branon
- Rena
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Rena is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rena
- Arlington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Arlington is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Jonesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Courtney
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Courtney is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Courtney
- Yadkinville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Boonville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rocky Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Rocky Springs.
Cemeteries Near Rocky Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rocky Springs.
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 Rocky Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rocky Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rocky Springs, with the one closest to Rocky Springs listed first.
- Jolly Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Tabernacle Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Old Bethany Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- New Salem Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Lebanon Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Friendship Lutheran Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cherry Grove Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Marvin UMC Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Hunting Creek Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Bentley Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oxford Memorial Baptist Church Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (145 more) ...
- Mt. Sinai Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Mountain Park Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- 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 east of Wilkesboro.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #48172 <2>
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Rocky Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rocky Springs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rocky Springs, with the one closest to Rocky Springs listed first.
- Hiddenite
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Vashti
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Vashti is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vashti
- Taylorsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Stony Point
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stony Point is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
- Gilreath
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Gilreath is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilreath
- Scotts
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Scotts is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts
- New Hope ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Hope is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Ellendale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Ellendale is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Zimmerman ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Zimmerman is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerman
- Hunting Creek ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Hunting Creek is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunting Creek
- Moravian Falls
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lovelace ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lovelace is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovelace
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Boomer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Boomer is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boomer
- Little River
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Little River is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River
- Wilkesboro
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rocky Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rocky Springs.
Newspapers Published in Rocky Springs ...
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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rocky Springs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rocky Springs, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rocky Springs.
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 Springs:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Alexander County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Ashe County
- Burke County
- Caldwell County
- Catawba County
- Davie County
- Iredell County
- Lincoln County
- Rowan County
- Surry County
- Watauga County
- Wilkes County
- Yadkin 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> | 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- Rocky Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |