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 Salem (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 Salem. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Salem is located in Lincoln 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 Lincoln County: Burke, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell & Mecklenburg.
Below are the counties that are near Salem. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Salem:
- Lincoln County (The home county of Salem)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Iron Station
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Iron Station is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Station
- Boger City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Boger City is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boger City
- Lincolnton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Machpelah
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Machpelah is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Machpelah
- Crouse
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Crouse is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crouse
- Lowesville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Lowesville is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowesville
- Triangle ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Triangle is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triangle
- Denver
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Westport
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Westport is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
- Vale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Henry
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Henry is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
- Hulls Crossroads
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Hulls Crossroads is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulls Crossroads
- Alexander County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Bethlehem
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Bethlehem is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
- Taylorsville Beach
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Taylorsville Beach is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorsville Beach
- Millersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Millersville is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersville
- Isenhour Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Isenhour Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isenhour Park
- Stony Point
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Stony Point is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
- Burke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Camp Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Camp Creek is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Creek
- Hildebran
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Ramsey
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Ramsey is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
- Shoups Ford
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Shoups Ford is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoups Ford
- Icard
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rhodhiss
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Connelly Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rutherford College
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Valdese
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Enola
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Enola is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enola
- Yellow Gap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Yellow Gap is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Gap
- Cabarrus County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Cannon Crossroads
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Cannon Crossroads is located in Cabarrus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon Crossroads
- Cannon Crossroads has also been known as:
- Cannon Cross Roads
- Cannon's Crossroads
- Wallace Cross Roads
- Wallace Crossroads
- Tulin ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Tulin is located in Cabarrus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulin
- Fisher Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Fisher Town is located in Cabarrus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher Town
- Poplar Tent
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Poplar Tent is located in Cabarrus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Tent
- Caldwell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Concord ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Concord is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Northlakes
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Northlakes is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northlakes
- Granite Falls
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sawmills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sawmills is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawmills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,156 people
- Catawba County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Maiden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Providence Mill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Providence Mill is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence Mill
- Olivers Crossroads
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Olivers Crossroads is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivers Crossroads
- Killian Crossroads
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Killian Crossroads is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killian Crossroads
- Duan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Duan is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duan
- Drums Crossroads
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Drums Crossroads is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drums Crossroads
- Blackburn
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Blackburn is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Plateau
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Plateau is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plateau
- Bandy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Bandy is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandy
- Startown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Startown is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Startown
- Banoak
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Banoak is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banoak
- Rhoney
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rhoney is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhoney
- Cleveland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Waco
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Waco is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 319 people
- Kings Mountain
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Stony Point
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Stony Point is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
- Stubbs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Stubbs is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stubbs
- Wilson ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Wilson is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- White Plains
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- White Plains is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Beam Mill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Beam Mill is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beam Mill
- Fallston
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Light Oak
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Light Oak is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Light Oak
- Belwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Belwood is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 963 people
- Toluca
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Toluca is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toluca
- Elbethel ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Elbethel is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbethel
- Gaston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- High Shoals
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- High Shoals is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Shoals
- Population from the 2020 Census: 757 people
- Alexis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Alexis is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexis
- Stanley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dallas
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Spencer Mountain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Spencer Mountain is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer Mountain
- Estimated population in 2016: 36 people
- Tryon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Tryon is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tryon
- Lucia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Lucia is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucia
- Ranlo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Ranlo is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ranlo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,708 people
- Gastonia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bessemer City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Perry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Perry is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perry
- Cherryville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Iredell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Mayhew
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Mayhew is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayhew
- Mount Mourne
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Mount Mourne is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Mourne
- Doolie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Doolie is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doolie
- Eufola
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Eufola is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eufola
- Mooresville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Shepherds
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Shepherds is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shepherds
- Barium Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Barium Springs is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barium Springs
- Ostwalt
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ostwalt is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostwalt
- Troutman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mazeppa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mazeppa is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mazeppa
- Brevard ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Brevard is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brevard
- Statesville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mecklenburg County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- River View ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- River View is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River View
- Cornelius
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Huntersville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Paw Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Paw Creek is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paw Creek
- Chateau Woods
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Chateau Woods is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chateau Woods
- Dixie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dixie is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Spring Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Lake is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
- Croft
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Croft is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croft
- Davidson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Dalton Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dalton Village is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton Village
- Pinecrest
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pinecrest is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinecrest
- Biddleville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Biddleville is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biddleville
- Rowan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Harts ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Harts is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harts
- Enochville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Enochville is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enochville
- Mount Ulla
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rutherford County
- Hollis
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hollis is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis
- Cherokee County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Blacksburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Kings Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- York County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Bowling Green
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Clover
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Lake Wylie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Zadok ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Zadok is located in York County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zadok
- Filbert
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Filbert is located in York County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filbert
- Tega Cay
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Smyrna
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- York
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Salem, see our County-by-County Page for Salem.
Cemeteries Near Salem ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Salem.
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 Salem - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Salem covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Hollybrook Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mauney Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Forney Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Amity Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Keener - Shrum Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Union Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Gainsville Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Antioch Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Coral Park Baptist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Caleb Carpenter Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Keever Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bethphage Lutheran Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Continue List (225 more) ...
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Hills Chapel UMC Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills Chapel UMC Cemetery
- The Hills Chapel UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Lowes Cemetery
- Lowesville Cemetery
- Crowell Memorial UMC Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
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 Salem in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Salem.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Iron Station
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Iron Station is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Station
- Hardins
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Hardins is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardins
- Lincolnton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Machpelah
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Machpelah is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Machpelah
- Crouse
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Crouse is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crouse
- Dallas
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Lucia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Lucia is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucia
- Lowesville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Lowesville is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowesville
- Triangle ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Triangle is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triangle
- Reepsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Reepsville is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reepsville
- Maiden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Cherryville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Perry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Perry is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perry
- Bessemer City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gastonia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Salem. See our List of 1890's Communities around Salem.
Newspapers Published in Salem ...
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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Salem.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Salem, 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 Salem.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Salem:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Lincoln County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alexander County
- Burke County
- Cabarrus County
- Caldwell County
- Catawba County
- Cleveland County
- Gaston County
- Iredell County
- Mecklenburg County
- Rowan County
- Rutherford County
- Cherokee County
- York 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 from Point A (ie- Salem) 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 Salem, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |