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 Cana (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 Cana. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Cana is located in Carroll County.
To see how the shape of Virginia's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Carroll County: Floyd, Grayson, Patrick, Pulaski, Surry & Wythe.
Below are the counties that are near Cana. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Cana:
- Carroll County (The home county of Cana)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cana, with the one closest to Cana listed first.
- Lambsburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Fancy Gap
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Drenn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Drenn is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
- Gladesboro
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Gladesboro is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesboro
- Nester
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Nester is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nester
- Pipers Gap
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
- Hillsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Woodlawn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pike City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pike City is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike City
- Star
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Star is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Dugspur
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Oak Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Shorts Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
- Floyd County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cana, with the one closest to Cana listed first.
- Indian Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Duncan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Duncan is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Floyd
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Haycock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Haycock is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haycock
- Galax City
- Galax
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Grayson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cana, with the one closest to Cana listed first.
- Low Gap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Low Gap is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Fries
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Baywood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Baywood is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
- Independence
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Elk Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Patrick County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cana, with the one closest to Cana listed first.
- Ararat
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Carters Mill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Carters Mill is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Mill
- Meadows of Dan
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Peters Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Peters Creek is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters Creek
- Stuart
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Woolwine
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Patrick Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Elamsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Elamsville is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elamsville
- Critz
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Nettleridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Nettleridge is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettleridge
- Charity
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Charity is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charity
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cana, with the one closest to Cana listed first.
- Mack Creek Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Mack Creek Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack Creek Village
- Draper
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cana, with the one closest to Cana listed first.
- Austinville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ivanhoe
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Siloam
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Siloam is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Fort Chiswell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
- Locust Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Max Meadows
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Alleghany County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cana, with the one closest to Cana listed first.
- Edmonds
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Edmonds is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
- Ennice
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Hooker
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Roaring Gap
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Glade Valley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Sparta
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Sparta is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,723 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sparta <1>
- Amelia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Forsyth County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cana, with the one closest to Cana listed first.
- Heritage Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Heritage Village is located in Forsyth County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Village
- King
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- King is located in Forsyth County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,912 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for King <1>
- Donnaha
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Donnaha is located in Forsyth County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnaha
- The Meadows
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- The Meadows is located in Forsyth County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Meadows
- Tobaccoville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stokes County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cana, with the one closest to Cana listed first.
- Flat Rock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Flat Rock is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
- Aarons Corner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Aarons Corner is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aarons Corner
- Pinnacle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Vade Mecum
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Vade Mecum is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vade Mecum
- Campbell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Campbell is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- Lawsonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lawsonville is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
- Capella
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Capella is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capella
- Mount Olive
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Olive is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Quaker Gap
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Quaker Gap is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Gap
- Snow Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Snow Hill is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Danbury
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Neatman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Neatman is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neatman
- Oak Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Oak Ridge is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge
- Surry County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cana, with the one closest to Cana listed first.
- Toast
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Toast is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toast
- Red Brush
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Red Brush is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Brush
- Flat Rock
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Flat Rock is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
- Mount Airy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Round Peak
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Round Peak is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Peak
- Sheltontown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sheltontown is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheltontown
- White Plains
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- White Plains is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Holly Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Holly Springs is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Low Gap
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Mount Herman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Mount Herman is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Herman
- Albion
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Albion is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Black Water
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Black Water is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Water
- Dobson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Wilkes County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cana, with the one closest to Cana listed first.
- Pleasant Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Traphill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lomax
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lomax is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomax
- Abshers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Abshers is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abshers
- Zebra ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Zebra is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zebra
- Moxley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Moxley is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moxley
- Ronda
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Yadkin County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cana, with the one closest to Cana listed first.
- Richmond Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Richmond Hill is located in Yadkin County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Hill
- Boonville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Mount Pleasant
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Yadkin County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Nebo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Nebo is located in Yadkin County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebo
- Arlington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Arlington is located in Yadkin County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Jonesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Union Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Union Grove is located in Yadkin County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- East Bend
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Forbush
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Forbush is located in Yadkin County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbush
- Rena
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Rena is located in Yadkin County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rena
- Swan Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Swan Creek is located in Yadkin County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Creek
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Cana, see our County-by-County Page for Cana.
Cemeteries Near Cana ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cana.
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 Cana - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Cana covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cana, with the one closest to Cana listed first.
- Cana Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Wisler Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jones Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Johnson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Oak Ridge Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Epworth Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Tolbert - Westmoreland Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Thomas Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Rocky Ford Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- St. Paul Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Pauls Creek Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Gray Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Continue List (647 more) ...
- McCraw Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Rigney Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Flat Ridge Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Cana had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Cana, with the one closest to Cana listed first.
- Lambsburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Fancy Gap
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Pine Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Pine Ridge is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
- Drenn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Drenn is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
- Mount Airy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gladesboro
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Gladesboro is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesboro
- Round Peak
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Round Peak is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Peak
- Nester
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Nester is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nester
- White Plains
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- White Plains is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Carters Mill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Carters Mill is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Mill
- Pipers Gap
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
- Low Gap
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Ladonia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ladonia is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladonia
- Hillsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Laurel Fork
(12 miles [19.3 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 Cana. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cana.
Newspapers Published in Cana ...
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 Cana.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cana, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cana.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Cana:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Carroll County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Floyd County
- Galax City
- Grayson County
- Patrick County
- Pulaski County
- Wythe County
- Alleghany County
- Forsyth County
- Stokes County
- Surry County
- Wilkes County
- Yadkin County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Virginia
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 Cana, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Cana) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |