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 Westminster (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 Westminster. 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 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.
Westminster is located in Rutherford 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 Rutherford County: Buncombe, Burke, Cleveland, Henderson, McDowell, Polk, Cherokee (SC) & Spartanburg (SC).
Below are the counties that are near Westminster. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Westminster:
- Rutherford County (The home county of Westminster)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westminster, with the one closest to Westminster listed first.
- Mount Pisgah ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mount Pisgah is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pisgah
- Sunshine
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Sunshine is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
- Union Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Washburn
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Washburn is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washburn
- Ruth
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Ruth is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
- Thermal City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Thermal City is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thermal City
- Spindale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Bostic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rutherfordton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cuba ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cuba is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Bakersville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Bakersville is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Concord
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Concord is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Buncombe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westminster, with the one closest to Westminster listed first.
- Ridgecrest
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Black Mountain
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Montreat
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Walkertown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Walkertown is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkertown
- Fairview
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Swannanoa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Burke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westminster, with the one closest to Westminster listed first.
- Brindletown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Brindletown is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brindletown
- Rollins ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Rollins is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollins
- Parkhill
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Parkhill is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkhill
- Enola
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Enola is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enola
- Glen Alpine
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Camp Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Camp Creek is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Creek
- Ramsey
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ramsey is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
- Salem
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Salem is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Calvin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Calvin is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvin
- Magnolia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Magnolia is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Shoups Ford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Shoups Ford is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoups Ford
- Yellow Gap
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Yellow Gap is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Gap
- Catawba County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westminster, with the one closest to Westminster listed first.
- Cooksville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cooksville is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooksville
- Banoak
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Banoak is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banoak
- Advent Crossroads
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Advent Crossroads is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advent Crossroads
- Cleveland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westminster, with the one closest to Westminster listed first.
- New House
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- New House is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New House
- Polkville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Polkville is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
- Cleveland Mills ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Cleveland Mills is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland Mills
- Delight
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Delight is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delight
- Mooresboro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mooresboro is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooresboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
- Campcall
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Campcall is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campcall
- Casar
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Lattimore
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lattimore is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lattimore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- Kingstown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Kingstown is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
- Cliffside
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cliffside is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffside
- Byersville ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Byersville is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byersville
- Boiling Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Gaston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westminster, with the one closest to Westminster listed first.
- Dellview
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Dellview is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellview
- Population from the 2010 Census: 13 people
- Cherryville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westminster, with the one closest to Westminster listed first.
- Bat Cave
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Bearwallow
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Bearwallow is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Gerton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Baxter
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Baxter is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Dana
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Dana is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- Saluda
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Upward
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Upward is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upward
- U-No
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- U-No is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for U-No
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westminster, with the one closest to Westminster listed first.
- Laurel Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Laurel Hill is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
- North Brook ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- North Brook is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Brook
- Hulls Crossroads
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Hulls Crossroads is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulls Crossroads
- Henry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Henry is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
- Vale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- McDowell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westminster, with the one closest to Westminster listed first.
- Mountain Home ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Mountain Home is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Vein Mountain
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Vein Mountain is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vein Mountain
- Glenwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Glenwood is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Sugar Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sugar Hill is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
- Patten
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Patten is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patten
- Providence
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Providence is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- West Marion
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Marion is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Marion
- Marion
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Nebo
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Greenlee
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Greenlee is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Lackey Town
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lackey Town is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackey Town
- Moffitt Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Moffitt Hill is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt Hill
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westminster, with the one closest to Westminster listed first.
- Mill Spring
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Columbus
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lynn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lynn is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Tryon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Melrose
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Melrose is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Yancey County
- Hamrick
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hamrick is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamrick
- Cherokee County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westminster, with the one closest to Westminster listed first.
- Chesnee
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Macedonia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Macedonia is located in Cherokee County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
- East Gaffney
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- East Gaffney is located in Cherokee County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gaffney
- Gaffney
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Blacksburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Greenville County (SC)
- Gowensville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gowensville is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowensville
- Spartanburg County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westminster, with the one closest to Westminster listed first.
- Brooklyn
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Brooklyn is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Fingerville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Mayo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Landrum
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Landrum is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landrum
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,725 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Landrum <1>
- Campobello
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Boiling Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Gramling
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cowpens
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Cowpens is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,465 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cowpens <1>
- Inman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Inman is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,480 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Inman <1>
- Valley Falls
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Inman Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Inman Mills is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman Mills
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Westminster, see our County-by-County Page for Westminster.
Cemeteries Near Westminster ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westminster.
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 Westminster - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Westminster covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Westminster, with the one closest to Westminster listed first.
- Brittain Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Wilson Baptist Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Lebanon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Centennial Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centennial Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Centennial Cemetery is located 7 miles [11.3 km]<3> to the north of Rutherfordton.
- The Centennial Cemetery has also been known as:
- Centennial UMC Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #47080 <2>
- Baxter Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Camp Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Gold Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Union Mills Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Pleasant CME Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gilboa Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilboa Cemetery
- The Gilboa Cemetery has also been known as:
- Gilboa UMC Cemetery
- Fork Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (309 more) ...
- Liberty Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Flack Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Little White Country Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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 Westminster in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Westminster.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Westminster, with the one closest to Westminster listed first.
- Trio ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Trio is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trio
- Sunshine
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Sunshine is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
- Washburn
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Washburn is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washburn
- Rutherfordton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bostic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cuba ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cuba is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Golden ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Golden is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden
- Mack ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mack is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Forest City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hollis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Hollis is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis
- Vein Mountain
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Vein Mountain is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vein Mountain
- Green Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Green Hill is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Dysartsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Dysartsville is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dysartsville
- Ellenboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- New House
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- New House is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New House
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Westminster. See our List of 1890's Communities around Westminster.
Newspapers Published in Westminster ...
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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Westminster.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westminster, 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 Westminster.
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 Westminster:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Rutherford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Buncombe County
- Burke County
- Catawba County
- Cleveland County
- Gaston County
- Henderson County
- Lincoln County
- McDowell County
- Polk County
- Yancey County
- Cherokee County
- Greenville County
- Spartanburg 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Westminster) 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 Westminster, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |