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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 Westview (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 Westview. 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 doctors and 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.

Westview is located in Alamance 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 Alamance County: Caswell, Chatham, Guilford, Orange, Randolph & Rockingham.

Below are the counties that are near Westview. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Westview:

  • Alamance County     (The home county of Westview)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westview, with the one closest to Westview listed first.
    • Country Club Acres
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Country Club Acres is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Acres
    • Elon College
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Elon
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Elon is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,186 people
    • Westbrook Forest
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Westbrook Forest is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Forest
    • Westbrook
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Westbrook is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook
    • Alamance Acres
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Alamance Acres is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamance Acres
    • Country Club Forest
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Country Club Forest is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Forest
    • Mark View
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Mark View is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mark View
    • Random Hills
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Random Hills is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Random Hills
    • Deerfield
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Deerfield is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
    • Pinewood Acres
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Pinewood Acres is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood Acres
    • Glenwood Acres
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Glenwood Acres is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Acres
  • Caswell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westview, with the one closest to Westview listed first.
    • Stony Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Stony Creek is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
    • Anderson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Anderson is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
    • Jericho
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jericho is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
    • Ashland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Ashland is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
    • Locust Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Locust Hill is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
    • Quick
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Quick is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quick
    • Prospect Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Prospect Hill is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Hill
    • West Yanceyville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • West Yanceyville is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yanceyville
    • Ridgeville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Ridgeville is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
    • Yanceyville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Bethel
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Bethel is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
    • Leasburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Chatham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westview, with the one closest to Westview listed first.
    • Siler City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Bynum
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Bynum is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
  • Durham County
    • The American Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • The American Village is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The American Village
  • Forsyth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westview, with the one closest to Westview listed first.
    • Benefit ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Benefit is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benefit
    • Horneytown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Horneytown is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horneytown
    • Yorktown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Yorktown is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorktown
  • Guilford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westview, with the one closest to Westview listed first.
    • Gibsonville
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Whitsett
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Sedalia
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Sedalia is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 689 people
    • McLeansville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Forest Oaks
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Forest Oaks is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Oaks
    • Browns Summit
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Rudd
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Rudd is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudd
    • Cumberland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Cumberland is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
    • White Oak
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • White Oak is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
    • Julian
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Greensboro
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Spicewood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Spicewood is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spicewood
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westview, with the one closest to Westview listed first.
    • Lakeview Acres
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Lakeview Acres is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Acres
    • Cheeks Crossroads
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Cheeks Crossroads is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheeks Crossroads
    • Miles
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Miles is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles
    • Oaks
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Oaks is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaks
    • Jordan Oak
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Jordan Oak is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan Oak
    • Carr
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Carr is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carr
    • Teer
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Teer is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teer
    • Cedar Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Cedar Grove is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
    • Efland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Stagecoach Forest
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Stagecoach Forest is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach Forest
    • Orange Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Orange Grove is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Grove
    • McDade
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • McDade is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDade
  • Person County
  • Randolph County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westview, with the one closest to Westview listed first.
    • Liberty
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Redcross
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Redcross is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redcross
    • Melanchton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Melanchton is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melanchton
    • Staley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Millboro
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Millboro is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millboro
    • Randleman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Franklinville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Ramseur
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Worthville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Worthville is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
    • Cedar Falls
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Cedar Falls is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Falls
    • New Market
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • New Market is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
    • Sophia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Rockingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westview, with the one closest to Westview listed first.
    • Belmont
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Belmont is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
    • Reidsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Lawsonville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Lawsonville is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
    • Norwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Norwood is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
    • Wittys Crossroads
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Wittys Crossroads is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittys Crossroads
    • Ruffin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Wentworth
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Wentworth is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wentworth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,734 people
    • College Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • College Village is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Village
    • Gold Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Gold Hill is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Hill
    • Draper ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Draper is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draper
    • Ellisboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Ellisboro is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellisboro

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Westview, see our County-by-County Page for Westview.

Cemeteries Near Westview ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westview.

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 Westview - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Westview covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Westview, with the one closest to Westview listed first.

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 Westview in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Westview.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Westview, with the one closest to Westview listed first.

  • Elon College
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Gibsonville
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Burlington
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Graham
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Graham is located in Alamance County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,766 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Graham <1>
  • Altamahaw
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Altamahaw is located in Alamance County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamahaw
  • Rock Creek
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Rock Creek is located in Alamance County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
  • Haw River
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • McLeansville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Kimesville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Kimesville is located in Alamance County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimesville
  • Swepsonville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Swepsonville is located in Alamance County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swepsonville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,386 people
  • McCray
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • McCray is located in Alamance County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCray
  • Union Ridge
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Union Ridge is located in Alamance County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Ridge
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Hawfields
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Hawfields is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawfields
    • Stony Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Stony Creek is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
    • Mebane
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Mebane is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mebane
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,732 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mebane <1>

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Westview. See our List of 1890's Communities around Westview.

Newspapers Published in Westview ...

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 78 newspapers that have been published in the area around Westview.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westview, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Westview.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Westview:

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Westview) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 Westview, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.