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 Willowbend (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 Willowbend. 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 Willowbend ...
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.
Another variation: Willow Bend.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Willowbend. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Willowbend.
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 and doctors 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.
Willowbend 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 Willowbend. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Willowbend:
- Forsyth County (The home county of Willowbend)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willowbend, with the one closest to Willowbend listed first.
- High Meadows
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- High Meadows is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Meadows
- Talleys Crossing
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Talleys Crossing is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talleys Crossing
- Wellington Way
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Wellington Way is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellington Way
- Guthrie
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Guthrie is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guthrie
- Sedge Garden
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Sedge Garden is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedge Garden
- Sun Meadows
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Sun Meadows is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Meadows
- Christy Acres
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Christy Acres is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christy Acres
- Kernersville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Dilhast
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Dilhast is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilhast
- Hampstead
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Hampstead is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampstead
- Timber Trails
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Timber Trails is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Trails
- Beeson Crossroads
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Beeson Crossroads is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beeson Crossroads
- Davidson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willowbend, with the one closest to Willowbend listed first.
- Abotts Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Abotts Creek is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abotts Creek
- Wallburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Gum Tree
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Gum Tree is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Tree
- Bethany ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bethany is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
- Midway
(11 miles [17.7 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
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Arcadia is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Welcome
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Thomasville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Reedy Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Reedy Creek is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedy Creek
- Fair Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Fair Grove is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Grove
- Currytown
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Currytown is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Currytown
- Eden ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Eden is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Davie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willowbend, with the one closest to Willowbend listed first.
- Bermuda Run
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Advance
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Pino
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Pino is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pino
- Mocksville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ephesus
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ephesus is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ephesus
- Clinton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Clinton is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Guilford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willowbend, with the one closest to Willowbend listed first.
- Colfax
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Sandy Ridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Sandy Ridge is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
- Oak Ridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Stokesdale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- High Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Guilford College
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Guilford College is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford College
- Jamestown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Summerfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sherwood Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sherwood Village is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood Village
- Latham Town
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Latham Town is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latham Town
- Pomona
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Pomona is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
- Allen Jay
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Allen Jay is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen Jay
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willowbend, with the one closest to Willowbend listed first.
- Archdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Trinity
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- New Market
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- New Market is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
- Sophia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Randleman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Redcross
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Redcross is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redcross
- Worthville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Worthville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
- Millboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Millboro is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millboro
- Rockingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willowbend, with the one closest to Willowbend listed first.
- Ellisboro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ellisboro is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellisboro
- Gold Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Gold Hill is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Hill
- Wittys Crossroads
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Wittys Crossroads is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittys Crossroads
- Madison
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mayodan
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Shiloh
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Shiloh is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Stoneville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Norwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Norwood is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Wentworth
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wentworth is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wentworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,734 people
- Belmont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Belmont is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Providence
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Providence is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Reidsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rowan County
- Yadkin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Yadkin is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yadkin
- Stokes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willowbend, with the one closest to Willowbend listed first.
- Fulp
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Fulp is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulp
- Germanton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Walnut Cove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Bailey Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Bailey Town is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Town
- Pine Hall
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Neatman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Neatman is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neatman
- Meadows
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Meadows is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
- Mount Olive
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Olive is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Quaker Gap
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Quaker Gap is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Gap
- Upper Sawra Town ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Upper Sawra Town is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Sawra Town
- Capella
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Capella is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capella
- Danbury
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Surry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willowbend, with the one closest to Willowbend listed first.
- Boyden ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Boyden is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyden
- Shoals
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Shoals is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoals
- Pilot Mountain
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Siloam
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Siloam is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Pine Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Hill is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
- Westfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rockford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Rockford is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockford
- Yadkin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willowbend, with the one closest to Willowbend listed first.
- East Bend
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Huntsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Huntsville is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
- Wyo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Wyo is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyo
- Forbush
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Forbush is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbush
- Courtney
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Courtney is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Courtney
- Richmond Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Richmond Hill is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Hill
- Union Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Union Grove is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- Mount Pleasant
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Nebo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Nebo is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebo
- Yadkinville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Willowbend, see our County-by-County Page for Willowbend.
Cemeteries Near Willowbend ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Willowbend.
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 Willowbend - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Willowbend covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Willowbend, with the one closest to Willowbend listed first.
- Mecum Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Oaklawn Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Gur Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Eastlawn Gardens of Memory
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Piedmont Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Garden of Memories Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gardens of Memory Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Salem Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- 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 <3>
- God's Acre
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- 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 <3>
- Salem Moravian God's Acre Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Happy Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (266 more) ...
- Bellevue Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Union Ridge UMC Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Woodland Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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 Willowbend in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Willowbend.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Willowbend, with the one closest to Willowbend listed first.
- Kernersville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Walkertown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Salem
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Salem is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Colfax
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- White Road ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- White Road is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Road
- Alspaugh
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Alspaugh is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alspaugh
- Sedges Garden ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sedges Garden is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedges Garden
- Dennis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Dennis is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis
- Oak Ridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Belews Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Belews Creek is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belews Creek
- Bethany ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bethany is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
- Deep River
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Friendship
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Friendship is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Midway
(11 miles [17.7 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
- Stokesdale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Willowbend. See our List of 1890's Communities around Willowbend.
Newspapers Published in Willowbend ...
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 23 newspapers that have been published in the area around Willowbend.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Willowbend, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Willowbend.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Willowbend:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Forsyth County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Davidson County
- Davie County
- Guilford 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Willowbend) 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 Willowbend, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |