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 West Hills (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 West Hills. 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 West Hills ...
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 West Hills: W. Hills
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Hills. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Hills.
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 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.
West Hills is located in Edgecombe 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 Edgecombe County: Halifax, Martin, Nash, Pitt & Wilson.
Below are the counties that are near West Hills. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Hills:
- Edgecombe County (The home county of West Hills)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hills, with the one closest to West Hills listed first.
- Tarboro
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Fairview
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Fairview is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Summerfield
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Summerfield is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield
- Princeville
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Princeville is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,901 people
- Hope Lodge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hope Lodge is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Lodge
- Henrietta
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Henrietta is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
- Hartsease
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hartsease is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsease
- Hartsboro
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hartsboro is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsboro
- Leggett
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Leggett is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leggett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Coakley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Coakley is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coakley
- Speed
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Speed is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speed
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
- Conetoe
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Conetoe is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conetoe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 263 people
- Lancaster
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lancaster is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster
- Bertie County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hills, with the one closest to West Hills listed first.
- Lewiston Woodville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lewiston Woodville is located in Bertie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewiston Woodville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 473 people
- Kelford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kelford is located in Bertie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Roxobel
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Roxobel is located in Bertie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxobel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
- Drew
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Drew is located in Bertie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drew
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hills, with the one closest to West Hills listed first.
- Fieldsboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Fieldsboro is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fieldsboro
- Walstonburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Walstonburg is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walstonburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Speights Bridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Speights Bridge is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speights Bridge
- Maury
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Maury is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maury
- Contentnea
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Contentnea is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Contentnea
- Halifax County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hills, with the one closest to West Hills listed first.
- Roseneath
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Roseneath is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseneath
- Hobgood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hobgood is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobgood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
- Braswells Crossroads
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Braswells Crossroads is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braswells Crossroads
- Palmyra
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Palmyra is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
- Scotland Neck
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Enfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Tillery
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- White Oak
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- White Oak is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
- Ringwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ringwood is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringwood
- Allen Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Allen Grove is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen Grove
- Heathsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Heathsville is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heathsville
- Halifax
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Brinkleyville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Brinkleyville is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brinkleyville
- Martin County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hills, with the one closest to West Hills listed first.
- Oak City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Parmele
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Parmele is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parmele
- Population from the 2020 Census: 253 people
- Hassell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Hassell is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hassell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
- Gold Point
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Gold Point is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Point
- Robersonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Hamilton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Everetts
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Everetts is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everetts
- Population from the 2020 Census: 138 people
- Bear Grass
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Bear Grass is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Grass
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
- Williamston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Nash County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hills, with the one closest to West Hills listed first.
- North Green
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- North Green is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Green
- Ashburk
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Ashburk is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashburk
- Drake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Drake is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drake
- Easonburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Easonburg is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easonburg
- Joyners Crossing
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Joyners Crossing is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joyners Crossing
- Dortches
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Dortches is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dortches
- Population from the 2020 Census: 964 people
- Gold Rock
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Taylor Crossroads
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Taylor Crossroads is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Crossroads
- Halifax Crossing
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Halifax Crossing is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halifax Crossing
- Langley Crossroads
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Langley Crossroads is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langley Crossroads
- Westry
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Westry is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westry
- Hickory
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Regency Estates
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Regency Estates is located in Nash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regency Estates
- Northampton County
- Rich Square
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pitt County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hills, with the one closest to West Hills listed first.
- Bethel
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Falkland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Falkland is located in Pitt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falkland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Whitehurst
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Whitehurst is located in Pitt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehurst
- Fountain
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Oakley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Oakley is located in Pitt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakley
- Farmville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Farmville is located in Pitt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,747 people
- Congleton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Congleton is located in Pitt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congleton
- House
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- House is located in Pitt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for House
- Stokes
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Stokes is located in Pitt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokes
- Greenville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ripple City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ripple City is located in Pitt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripple City
- Whichard
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Whichard is located in Pitt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whichard
- Red Oak
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Red Oak is located in Pitt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
- Wayne County
- Eureka
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Eureka is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
- Wilson County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hills, with the one closest to West Hills listed first.
- Elm City
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Saratoga
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Saratoga is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saratoga
- Population from the 2020 Census: 408 people
- Eastwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Eastwood is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood
- Spring Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Lake is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
- Wilson
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Stantonsburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Black Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Black Creek is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 767 people
- Scotts
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Scotts is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts
- Sims
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Lucama
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Hills, see our County-by-County Page for West Hills.
Cemeteries Near West Hills ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Hills.
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 West Hills - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Hills covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Hills, with the one closest to West Hills listed first.
- Tarboro Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Edgecombe Memorial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Community Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Princeville Community Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Dancy Memorial Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Eastlawn Memorial Garden
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastlawn Memorial Garden
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Eastlawn Memorial Garden is located outside and to the northeast of Tarboro.
- The Eastlawn Memorial Garden has also been known as:
- Eastlawn Memorial Gardens Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2164807 <2>
- County Home Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Bulluck Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- New Hope Baptist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- St. Matthews Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pineview Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Harrell Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (189 more) ...
- Manning Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Harrison Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Powell Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
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 West Hills in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Hills.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Hills, with the one closest to West Hills listed first.
- Tarboro
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Mildred
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mildred is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mildred
- Hartsboro
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hartsboro is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsboro
- Leggett
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Leggett is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leggett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Penelo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Penelo is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penelo
- Old Sparta
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Old Sparta is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Sparta
- Conetoe
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Conetoe is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conetoe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 263 people
- Coakley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Coakley is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coakley
- Lawrence
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Lawrence is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Saint Lewis
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Lewis is located in Edgecombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Lewis
- Bethel
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hollands
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Hollands is located in Pitt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollands
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Hobgood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hobgood is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobgood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
- Rocky Mount
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Bridgersville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bridgersville is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgersville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Hills. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Hills.
Newspapers Published in West Hills ...
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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Hills.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Hills, 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 West Hills.
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 West Hills:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Edgecombe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bertie County
- Greene County
- Halifax County
- Martin County
- Nash County
- Northampton County
- Pitt County
- Wayne County
- Wilson 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Hills) 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 West Hills, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |