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 doctors and 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 Surry 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 Surry County: Alleghany, Forsyth, Stokes, Wilkes, Yadkin, Carroll (VA), Grayson (VA) & Patrick (VA).
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:
- Surry County (The home county of Salem)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Mount Airy
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Flat Rock
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Flat Rock is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
- Toast
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Toast is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toast
- Sheltontown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sheltontown is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheltontown
- Holly Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Holly Springs is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- White Plains
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- White Plains is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Red Brush
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Red Brush is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Brush
- Mount Herman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mount Herman is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Herman
- Albion
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Albion is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Ararat
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Black Water
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Black Water is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Water
- Flat Shoals ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Flat Shoals is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Shoals
- Westfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Edmonds
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Edmonds is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
- Ennice
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Roaring Gap
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hooker
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Glade Valley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Sparta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Forsyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Heritage Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Heritage Village is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Village
- King
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Donnaha
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Donnaha is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnaha
- The Meadows
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- The Meadows is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Meadows
- Tobaccoville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dozier
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Dozier is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dozier
- Oak Park
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Park is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
- Rural Hall
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bannertown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bannertown is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bannertown
- Creek View
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Creek View is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creek View
- Hunter Meadows
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hunter Meadows is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Meadows
- Seward
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Seward is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seward
- Bethania
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bethania is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethania
- Population from the 2020 Census: 367 people
- Stokes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Flat Rock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Flat Rock is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
- Aarons Corner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Aarons Corner is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aarons Corner
- Pinnacle
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Vade Mecum
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Vade Mecum is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vade Mecum
- Capella
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Capella is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capella
- Campbell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Campbell is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- Lawsonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Lawsonville is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
- Mount Olive
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Olive is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Quaker Gap
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Quaker Gap is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Gap
- Snow Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Snow Hill is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Danbury
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Neatman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Neatman is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neatman
- Meadows
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Meadows is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
- Wilkes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Pleasant Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Lomax
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lomax is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomax
- Traphill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ronda
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Zebra ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Zebra is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zebra
- Abshers
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Abshers is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abshers
- Clingman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Clingman is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clingman
- Moxley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Moxley is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moxley
- Yadkin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Richmond Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Richmond Hill is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Hill
- Boonville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mount Pleasant
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- East Bend
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Nebo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Nebo is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebo
- Union Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Union Grove is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- Forbush
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Forbush is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbush
- Arlington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Arlington is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Jonesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Rena
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rena is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rena
- Yadkinville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Swan Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Swan Creek is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Creek
- Branon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Branon is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branon
- Carroll County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Cana
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Lambsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Gladesboro
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Gladesboro is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesboro
- Fancy Gap
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Nester
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Nester is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nester
- Drenn
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Drenn is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
- Pike City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pike City is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike City
- Pipers Gap
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
- Hillsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Woodlawn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dugspur
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Star
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Star is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Oak Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Grove is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Floyd County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Indian Valley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Duncan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Duncan is located in Floyd County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Haycock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Haycock is located in Floyd County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haycock
- Floyd
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Galax City (VA)
- Galax
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Grayson County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Low Gap
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Low Gap is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Baywood
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Baywood is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
- Fries
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Patrick County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Ararat
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Carters Mill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Carters Mill is located in Patrick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Mill
- Peters Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Peters Creek is located in Patrick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters Creek
- Meadows of Dan
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Stuart
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Patrick Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Nettleridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Nettleridge is located in Patrick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettleridge
- Woolwine
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Critz
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Elamsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Elamsville is located in Patrick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elamsville
- Charity
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Charity is located in Patrick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charity
- Stella
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Stella is located in Patrick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Wythe County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Austinville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ivanhoe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
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.
- Salem Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Ararat Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Gods Acre Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Grace Moravian God's Acre
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Oakdale Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale Cemetery
- The Oakdale Cemetery has also been known as:
- Oakdale City Cemetery
- Oakdale Memorial Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1984350 <2>
- State Line Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- State Line Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Sandy Level Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Old Methodist Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Paynetown Community Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Midkiff Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (656 more) ...
- Flat Ridge Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pedigo Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Willis Gap Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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.<3>
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.
- Mount Airy
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Cana
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Ridge is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
- White Plains
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- White Plains is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Carters Mill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Carters Mill is located in Patrick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Mill
- Ararat
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Flat Shoals ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Flat Shoals is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Shoals
- Westfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lambsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Ash Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Ash Hill is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash Hill
- Fancy Gap
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gladesboro
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Gladesboro is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesboro
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Round Peak
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Round Peak is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Peak
- Nester
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Nester is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nester
- Drenn
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Drenn is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
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 29 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 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. 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 helpful 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 Salem:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Surry County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alleghany County
- Forsyth County
- Stokes County
- Wilkes County
- Yadkin County
- Carroll County
- Floyd County
- Galax City
- Grayson County
- Patrick County
- Wythe County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for North Carolina
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Salem, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Salem) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |