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 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 West 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.
Name Variations for West Salem ...
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 Salem: W. Salem
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Salem. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Salem.
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 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.
West Salem is located in Forsyth 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 Forsyth County: Davidson, Davie, Guilford, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry & Yadkin.
Below are the counties that are near West Salem. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Salem:
- Forsyth County (The home county of West Salem)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Salem, with the one closest to West Salem listed first.
- Winston - Salem
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- East Winston
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- East Winston is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Winston
- Ardmore
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Ardmore is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardmore
- Waughtown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Waughtown is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waughtown
- North Winston
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- North Winston is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Winston
- Cityview
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cityview is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cityview
- Buena Vista
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Buena Vista is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Westview
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Westview is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westview
- Rosemont
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Rosemont is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont
- Bon Air
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Bon Air is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bon Air
- Brookwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Brookwood is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookwood
- Park Terrace
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Park Terrace is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Terrace
- Davidson County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Salem, with the one closest to West Salem listed first.
- Gum Tree
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gum Tree is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Tree
- Wallburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Midway
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Midway is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,951 people
- Arcadia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Arcadia is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Abotts Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Abotts Creek is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abotts Creek
- Bethany ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bethany is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
- Reedy Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Reedy Creek is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedy Creek
- Welcome
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Currytown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Currytown is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Currytown
- Thomasville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Jefferson Village is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Village
- Lexington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Davie County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Salem, with the one closest to West Salem listed first.
- Bermuda Run
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Advance
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Pino
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Pino is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pino
- Mocksville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ephesus
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Ephesus is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ephesus
- Calahaln
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Calahaln is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calahaln
- Clinton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Clinton is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Cooleemee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Guilford County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Salem, with the one closest to West Salem listed first.
- Colfax
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Sandy Ridge
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Sandy Ridge is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
- Oak Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- High Point
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sherwood Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sherwood Village is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood Village
- Jamestown
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Stokesdale
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Allen Jay
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Allen Jay is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen Jay
- Guilford College
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Guilford College is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford College
- Summerfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kirkman Crossroad
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Kirkman Crossroad is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman Crossroad
- Freeman Mill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Freeman Mill is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Mill
- Iredell County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Salem, with the one closest to West Salem listed first.
- Houstonville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Houstonville is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houstonville
- Harmony
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Salem, with the one closest to West Salem listed first.
- Archdale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Trinity
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- New Market
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Market is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
- Sophia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rockingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Salem, with the one closest to West Salem listed first.
- Ellisboro
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Ellisboro is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellisboro
- Gold Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Gold Hill is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Hill
- Madison
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wittys Crossroads
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wittys Crossroads is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittys Crossroads
- Mayodan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rowan County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Salem, with the one closest to West Salem listed first.
- Yadkin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Yadkin is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yadkin
- Shannon Park
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Shannon Park is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannon Park
- Trading Ford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Trading Ford is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trading Ford
- Ellis Crossroads
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ellis Crossroads is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis Crossroads
- Spencer
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Franklin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Franklin is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Mocksville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mocksville is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mocksville
- Needmore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Needmore is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
- Woodleaf
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- East Spencer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- East Spencer is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Spencer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
- Belmont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Belmont is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Forest Hills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Forest Hills is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Stokes County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Salem, with the one closest to West Salem listed first.
- Germanton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Fulp
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fulp is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulp
- Neatman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Neatman is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neatman
- Walnut Cove
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Bailey Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Bailey Town is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Town
- Mount Olive
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Mount Olive is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Quaker Gap
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Quaker Gap is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Gap
- Capella
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Capella is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capella
- Pinnacle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Meadows
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Meadows is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
- Pine Hall
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Danbury
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Surry County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Salem, with the one closest to West Salem listed first.
- Boyden ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Boyden is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyden
- Shoals
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Shoals is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoals
- Siloam
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Siloam is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Pilot Mountain
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Rockford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rockford is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockford
- Pine Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Hill is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
- Ararat
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Copeland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Copeland is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copeland
- Flat Shoals ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Flat Shoals is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Shoals
- Stony Knoll
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Stony Knoll is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Knoll
- Westfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Black Water
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Black Water is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Water
- Yadkin County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Salem, with the one closest to West Salem listed first.
- Huntsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Huntsville is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
- East Bend
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wyo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Wyo is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyo
- Forbush
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Forbush is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbush
- Courtney
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Courtney is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Courtney
- Union Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Union Grove is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- Richmond Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Richmond Hill is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Hill
- Mount Pleasant
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Yadkinville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Nebo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Nebo is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebo
- Footville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Footville is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Footville
- Boonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Salem, see our County-by-County Page for West Salem.
Cemeteries Near West Salem ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West 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 West Salem - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Salem covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Salem, with the one closest to West Salem listed first.
- God's Acre
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for God's Acre
- To give a relative sense of its location, the God's Acre is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Winston - Salem.
- The God's Acre has also been known as:
- Salem Moravian Cemetery
- Salem Moravian God's Acre
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2224695 <2>
- Salem Moravian God's Acre Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Salem Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Salem Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Winston - Salem.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #48680 <2>
- Bellevue Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Happy Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Parkland Memorial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Union Ridge UMC Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Bethel UMC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Woodland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Odd Fellows Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (286 more) ...
- Old Vernon Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Oaklawn Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Washington Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
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 Salem in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Salem.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Salem, with the one closest to West Salem listed first.
- Salem
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Salem is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Alspaugh
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Alspaugh is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alspaugh
- Sedges Garden ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Sedges Garden is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedges Garden
- Pfafftown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Midway
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Midway is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,951 people
- Walkertown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bethania
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Bethania is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethania
- Population from the 2020 Census: 367 people
- Arcadia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Arcadia is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Enterprise
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Enterprise is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Kernersville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Vienna
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Vienna is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna
- Lewisville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Bethany ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bethany is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
- Dennis
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dennis is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis
- Rural Hall
(11 miles [17.7 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 West Salem. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Salem.
Newspapers Published in West 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 20 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Salem.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Salem, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West 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 West Salem:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Forsyth County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Davidson County
- Davie County
- Guilford County
- Iredell County
- Randolph County
- Rockingham County
- Rowan County
- Stokes County
- Surry 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West 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 West Salem, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |