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 Twin Oaks (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 Twin Oaks. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Twin Oaks is located in Alleghany 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 Alleghany County: Ashe, Surry, Wilkes & Grayson (VA).
Below are the counties that are near Twin Oaks. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Twin Oaks:
- Alleghany County (The home county of Twin Oaks)
- The following are listed by their distance from Twin Oaks, with the one closest to Twin Oaks listed first.
- Amelia
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Sparta
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hooker
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Glade Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Piney Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Scottville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Topia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Topia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
- Ennice
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Laurel Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Edmonds
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Edmonds is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
- Roaring Gap
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ashe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Twin Oaks, with the one closest to Twin Oaks listed first.
- Transou
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Transou is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transou
- Weavers Ford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Weavers Ford is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weavers Ford
- Crumpler
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Grassy Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Wagoner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wagoner is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagoner
- Orion
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Orion is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
- Glendale Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Helton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Helton is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helton
- Jefferson
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Sturgills
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Sturgills is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgills
- Obids
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Obids is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obids
- Brandon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Brandon is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
- Lansing
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Surry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Twin Oaks, with the one closest to Twin Oaks listed first.
- Devotion
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Devotion is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devotion
- Low Gap
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Thurmond
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Round Peak
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Round Peak is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Peak
- Mountain Park
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Park is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Park
- State Road
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Zephyr
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Zephyr is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zephyr
- Elkin Valley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Elkin Valley is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkin Valley
- Mulberry
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mulberry is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Elkin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dobson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Red Brush
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Red Brush is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Brush
- Rusk ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rusk is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rusk
- Watauga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Twin Oaks, with the one closest to Twin Oaks listed first.
- Deep Gap
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Stony Fork
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Stony Fork is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Fork
- Laxon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Laxon is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laxon
- Wilkes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Twin Oaks, with the one closest to Twin Oaks listed first.
- Abshers
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Abshers is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abshers
- Springfield ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Springfield is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Moxley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Moxley is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moxley
- McGrady
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- McGrady is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGrady
- Traphill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Dehart
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Dehart is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dehart
- Zebra ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Zebra is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zebra
- Lomax
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Lomax is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomax
- Hays
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Mulberry
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Mulberry is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Wilbar
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Wilbar is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbar
- Fairplains
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Fairplains is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplains
- Millers Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Yadkin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Twin Oaks, with the one closest to Twin Oaks listed first.
- Arlington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Arlington is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Jonesville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Swan Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Swan Creek is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Creek
- Rena
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rena is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rena
- Johnson County (TN)
- Dowell ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Dowell is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
- Estimated population in 2014: 364 people
- Carroll County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Twin Oaks, with the one closest to Twin Oaks listed first.
- Pipers Gap
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
- Drenn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Drenn is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
- Lambsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Oak Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Woodlawn
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Sheep Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Sheep Town is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
- Cana
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Fancy Gap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Shorts Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
- Hillsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Galax City (VA)
- Galax
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Grayson County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Twin Oaks, with the one closest to Twin Oaks listed first.
- Independence
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Bridle Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Baywood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Baywood is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
- Mouth-of-Wilson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Elk Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Low Gap
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Low Gap is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Flat Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Flat Ridge is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Ridge
- Fries
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rugby
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Rugby is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Trout Dale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Whitetop
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Smyth County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Twin Oaks, with the one closest to Twin Oaks listed first.
- Sugar Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Atkins
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Marion
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Carmel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Adwolf
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Adwolf is located in Smyth County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adwolf
- Washington County (VA)
- Green Cove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Green Cove is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Cove
- Wythe County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Twin Oaks, with the one closest to Twin Oaks listed first.
- Speedwell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Rowe Crossroads
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
- Crockett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Ivanhoe
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Rural Retreat
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Austinville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Siloam
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Siloam is located in Wythe County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Wytheville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Kent
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Kent is located in Wythe County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Twin Oaks, see our County-by-County Page for Twin Oaks.
Cemeteries Near Twin Oaks ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Twin Oaks.
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 Twin Oaks - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Twin Oaks covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Twin Oaks, with the one closest to Twin Oaks listed first.
- Shiloh Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- New Haven Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Antioch Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Elk Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sparta Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cox Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Union Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- New Hope Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Prathers Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Coxs Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (543 more) ...
- Macedonia Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Glade Valley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Laurel Glenn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Twin Oaks in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Twin Oaks.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Twin Oaks, with the one closest to Twin Oaks listed first.
- Sparta
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Amelia
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Whitehead
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Whitehead is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehead
- Edwards Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Edwards Crossroads is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards Crossroads
- Peach Bottom
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Peach Bottom is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Bottom
- Independence
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Hooker
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Bridle Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Piney Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Scottville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Furches
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Furches is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furches
- Topia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Topia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Laurel Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cherry Lane
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cherry Lane is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Lane
- Ennice
(9 miles [14.5 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 Twin Oaks. See our List of 1890's Communities around Twin Oaks.
Newspapers Published in Twin Oaks ...
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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Twin Oaks.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Twin Oaks, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Twin Oaks.
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 Twin Oaks:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Alleghany County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Ashe County
- Surry County
- Watauga County
- Wilkes County
- Yadkin County
- Johnson County
- Carroll County
- Galax City
- Grayson County
- Smyth County
- Washington 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> | 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 Twin Oaks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Twin Oaks) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |