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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 Zara (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 Zara. 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.

Zara is located in Bladen 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 Bladen County: Columbus, Cumberland, Pender, Robeson & Sampson.

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

  • Bladen County     (The home county of Zara)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zara, with the one closest to Zara listed first.
    • Kelly
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Kelly is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
    • East Arcadia
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • East Arcadia is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Arcadia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 470 people
    • Council
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Council is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
    • Long View
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Long View is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long View
    • Rosindale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Rosindale is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosindale
    • Mount Olive
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Olive is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
    • White Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Clarkton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Elizabethtown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Abbottsburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Abbottsburg is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbottsburg
    • Yorick
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Yorick is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorick
    • Dublin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Dublin is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 328 people
    • Bladenboro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Brunswick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zara, with the one closest to Zara listed first.
    • Northwest
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Northwest is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
    • Sandy Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Sandy Creek is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 319 people
    • Malmo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Malmo is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malmo
    • Phoenix
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Phoenix is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phoenix
    • Makatoka
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Makatoka is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Makatoka
    • Navassa
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Navassa is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navassa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,534 people
    • Exum
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Exum is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exum
    • Town Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Town Creek is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Creek
    • Winnabow
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Belville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Belville is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,135 people
    • Leland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Leland is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,647 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leland <1>
    • Ash
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Ash is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash
    • Bolivia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Columbus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zara, with the one closest to Zara listed first.
    • Sandyfield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Sandyfield is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandyfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 415 people
    • Bolton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Byrdville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Byrdville is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byrdville
    • Armour
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Armour is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armour
    • Riegelwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Acme
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Acme is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
    • Delco
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Waccamaw
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Rico
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Rico is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rico
    • Hallsboro
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Hallsboro is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsboro
    • Redbug
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Redbug is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbug
    • Whiteville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Brunswick
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Duplin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zara, with the one closest to Zara listed first.
    • Harrells
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Harrells is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrells
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
    • Safe
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Safe is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Safe
    • Duff Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Duff Creek is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duff Creek
    • Wallace
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Brices Crossroads
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Brices Crossroads is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brices Crossroads
    • Teachey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Teachey is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teachey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 430 people
    • Tin City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Tin City is located in Duplin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tin City
  • New Hanover County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zara, with the one closest to Zara listed first.
    • Castle Hayne
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Skippers Corner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Skippers Corner is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skippers Corner
    • Wrightsboro
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Wrightsboro is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightsboro
    • Hightsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Hightsville is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightsville
    • Kings Grant
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Kings Grant is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Grant
    • Murraysville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Murraysville is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murraysville
    • Smith Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Smith Creek is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Creek
  • Pender County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zara, with the one closest to Zara listed first.
    • Atkinson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Currie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Saint Helena
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Saint Helena is located in Pender County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Helena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 428 people
    • Ashton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Ashton is located in Pender County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
    • Burgaw
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Watha
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Watha is located in Pender County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watha
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
    • Rocky Point
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Willard
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Willard is located in Pender County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
    • Murray Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Murray Town is located in Pender County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray Town
  • Sampson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zara, with the one closest to Zara listed first.
    • Ivanhoe
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Ivanhoe is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
    • Kerr
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Kerr is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerr
    • Tomahawk
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Tomahawk is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomahawk
    • Garland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Delway
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Delway is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delway
    • Ingold
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Ingold is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingold

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

Cemeteries Near Zara ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Zara.

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

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

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

  • New Hope Baptist Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Pleasant Union MB Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Graham Chapel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Holmes Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Salem Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • McEwen Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Shiloh Memorial Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh Memorial Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Shiloh Memorial Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the northwest of Bolton.
    • The Shiloh Memorial Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Shiloh Methodist Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #323569 <3>
  • Lucas Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • New Townsend Temple Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Flynn Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Long Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (257 more) ...
    • Holy Cross Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Buie Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Beatty Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)

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

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

  • Kelly
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Kelly is located in Bladen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
  • Westbrook
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Westbrook is located in Bladen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook
  • Colly
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Colly is located in Bladen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colly
  • Council
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Council is located in Bladen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
  • Bolton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Byrdville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Byrdville is located in Columbus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byrdville
  • Armour
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Armour is located in Columbus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armour
  • Freeman
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Freeman is located in Columbus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
  • Rosindale
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Rosindale is located in Bladen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosindale
  • Lake Waccamaw
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Point Caswell
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Point Caswell is located in Pender County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Caswell
  • Emerson
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Emerson is located in Bladen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Atkinson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Ivanhoe
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Ivanhoe is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
    • Elkton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Elkton is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton

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

Newspapers Published in Zara ...

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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Zara.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Zara, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Zara.

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 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 Zara:

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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Zara) 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 Zara, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.