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 Westwood (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 Westwood. 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 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.
Westwood is located in Randolph 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 Randolph County: Alamance, Chatham, Davidson, Guilford, Montgomery & Moore.
Below are the counties that are near Westwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Westwood:
- Randolph County (The home county of Westwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Archdale
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Trinity
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- New Market
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- New Market is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
- Sophia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Randleman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Worthville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Worthville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
- Central Falls
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Central Falls is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Falls
- Millboro
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Millboro is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millboro
- Redcross
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Redcross is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redcross
- Asheboro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Falls
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Falls is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Falls
- Mechanic
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Mechanic is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanic
- Alamance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Kimesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Kimesville is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimesville
- The Country
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- The Country is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Country
- Alamance
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Alamance is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamance
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,047 people
- Pleasant Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Glenwood Acres
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Glenwood Acres is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Acres
- Mark View
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mark View is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mark View
- Random Hills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Random Hills is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Random Hills
- Westbrook Forest
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Westbrook Forest is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Forest
- Westbrook
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Westbrook is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook
- Westview Terrace
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Westview Terrace is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westview Terrace
- Alamance Acres
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Alamance Acres is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamance Acres
- Country Club Acres
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Country Club Acres is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Acres
- Davidson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Thomasville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Eden ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Eden is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Fair Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fair Grove is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Grove
- Abotts Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Abotts Creek is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abotts Creek
- Bethany ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bethany is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
- Wallburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Gum Tree
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gum Tree is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Tree
- Holly Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Holly Grove is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Grove
- Midway
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Midway is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,951 people
- Silver Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Silver Valley is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Valley
- Jefferson Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Jefferson Village is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Village
- Welcome
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Davie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Advance
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bermuda Run
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Clinton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Clinton is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Forsyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Horneytown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Horneytown is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horneytown
- Yorktown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Yorktown is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorktown
- Beeson Crossroads
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Beeson Crossroads is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beeson Crossroads
- Kernersville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sedge Garden
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sedge Garden is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedge Garden
- Christy Acres
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Christy Acres is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christy Acres
- High Meadows
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- High Meadows is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Meadows
- Sun Meadows
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sun Meadows is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Meadows
- Applegate
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Applegate is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Applegate
- Cliffwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Cliffwood is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffwood
- Emorywood Estates
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Emorywood Estates is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emorywood Estates
- Timber Trails
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Timber Trails is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Trails
- Guilford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Allen Jay
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Allen Jay is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen Jay
- Sherwood Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Sherwood Village is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood Village
- High Point
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Freeman Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Freeman Mill is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Mill
- Jamestown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kirkman Crossroad
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kirkman Crossroad is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman Crossroad
- Sandy Ridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Sandy Ridge is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
- Pleasant Garden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Latham Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Latham Town is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latham Town
- Pomona
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pomona is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
- Colfax
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Guilford College
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Guilford College is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford College
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Abner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Abner is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abner
- Blaine
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Blaine is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
- Ophir
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Ophir is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ophir
- Eldorado
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Eldorado is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
- Rockingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Wittys Crossroads
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Wittys Crossroads is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittys Crossroads
- Gold Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Gold Hill is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Hill
- Ellisboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ellisboro is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellisboro
- Rowan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Morgan Ford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Morgan Ford is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Ford
- Pooletown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pooletown is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pooletown
- Trading Ford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Trading Ford is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trading Ford
- Yadkin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Yadkin is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yadkin
- Craven
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Craven is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craven
- Shannon Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Shannon Park is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannon Park
- East Spencer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Spencer is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Spencer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
- Ellis Crossroads
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ellis Crossroads is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis Crossroads
- Spencer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Liberty
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Liberty is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Woodbine
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Woodbine is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine
- Stokes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Fulp
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Fulp is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulp
- Germanton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Hall
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Walnut Cove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Bailey Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Bailey Town is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Town
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Westwood, see our County-by-County Page for Westwood.
Cemeteries Near Westwood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westwood.
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 Westwood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Westwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Oakwood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Cemetery
- The Oakwood Cemetery has also been known as:
- Oakwood Memorial Park
- Oakwood Municipal Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #48279 <2>
- Green Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Floral Garden Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Carolina Biblical Gardens of Guilford
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Mills Home Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Holly Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fair Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Andrews Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Johnsontown Methodist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Emanuel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (132 more) ...
- Guilford Memorial Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Deep River Friends Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Abbotts Creek Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Westwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Westwood.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Archdale
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Trinity
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Progress
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Progress is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progress
- High Point
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Glenola
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Glenola is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenola
- Thomasville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Freeman Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Freeman Mill is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Mill
- Fair Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fair Grove is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Grove
- Jamestown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Light
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Light is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Light
- New Market
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- New Market is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
- Deep River
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Sophia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Level Cross
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Level Cross is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Level Cross
- Bethany ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bethany is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Westwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Westwood.
Newspapers Published in Westwood ...
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 Westwood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westwood, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Westwood.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Westwood:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Randolph County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alamance County
- Davidson County
- Davie County
- Forsyth County
- Guilford County
- Montgomery County
- Rockingham County
- Rowan County
- Stokes 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> | 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 Westwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 from Point A (ie- Westwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |