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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 Duncan (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 Duncan. 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 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 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.

Duncan is located in Floyd County.

To see how the shape of Virginia's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Floyd County: Carroll, Franklin, Montgomery, Patrick, Pulaski & Roanoke.

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

  • Floyd County     (The home county of Duncan)
  • Bland County
    • Mechanicsburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Carroll County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
    • Dugspur
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Pike City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pike City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike City
      • Pike City is located in Carroll County
    • Nester
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nester. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nester
      • Nester is located in Carroll County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Nester
      • From Duncan to Nester
    • Star
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Star. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
      • Star is located in Carroll County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Star
      • From Duncan to Star
    • Sylvatus
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Gladesboro
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gladesboro. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesboro
      • Gladesboro is located in Carroll County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Gladesboro
      • From Duncan to Gladesboro
    • Hillsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Fancy Gap
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Shorts Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Woodlawn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Cana
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cana have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cana
      • Cana is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cana <2>
    • Oak Grove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Craig County
    • Huffman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Huffman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
      • Huffman is located in Craig County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Huffman
      • From Duncan to Huffman
  • Franklin County
  • Galax City
  • Giles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
    • Goodwins Ferry
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goodwins Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwins Ferry
      • Goodwins Ferry is located in Giles County
    • Poplar Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Newport
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Thessalia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Thessalia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
      • Thessalia is located in Giles County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Thessalia
      • From Duncan to Thessalia
    • Pembroke
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Mountain Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Grayson County
  • Henry County
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
    • Childress
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Childress. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childress
      • Childress is located in Montgomery County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Childress
      • From Duncan to Childress
    • Riner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Pilot
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Rogers
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rogers. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
      • Rogers is located in Montgomery County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rogers
      • From Duncan to Rogers
    • Christiansburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Oak Grove
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Old Farm Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Farm Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Farm Village
      • Old Farm Village is located in Montgomery County
    • Raintree Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raintree Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raintree Village
      • Raintree Village is located in Montgomery County
    • Houchins
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Houchins have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houchins
      • Houchins is located in Montgomery County
    • Merrimac
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merrimac have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
      • Merrimac is located in Montgomery County
    • Alleghany Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Montgomery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Montgomery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
      • Montgomery is located in Montgomery County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Montgomery
      • From Duncan to Montgomery
  • Patrick County
  • Pulaski County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
    • Snowville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Snowville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowville
      • Snowville is located in Pulaski County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Snowville
      • From Duncan to Snowville
    • Mack Creek Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mack Creek Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack Creek Village
      • Mack Creek Village is located in Pulaski County
    • Draper
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Newbern
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Dublin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dublin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
      • Dublin is located in Pulaski County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,578 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dublin <2>
    • Wurno
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wurno. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurno
      • Wurno is located in Pulaski County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wurno
      • From Duncan to Wurno
    • Fairlawn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Pulaski
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Cowan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cowan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
      • Cowan is located in Pulaski County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cowan
      • From Duncan to Cowan
    • Hilton Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hilton Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
      • Hilton Village is located in Pulaski County
    • Parrott
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Sassin ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sassin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
      • Sassin is located in Pulaski County
  • Radford City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
    • Simpkins Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Simpkins Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpkins Village
      • Simpkins Village is located in Radford City
    • Mill Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
      • Mill Village is located in Radford City
    • New Town
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
      • New Town is located in Radford City
    • Radford Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Radford Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford Village
      • Radford Village is located in Radford City
    • Radford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Radford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford
      • Radford is located in Radford City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,255 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Radford <2>
    • Sunset Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
      • Sunset Village is located in Radford City
  • Roanoke County
  • Wythe County
  • Stokes County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
    • Aarons Corner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Campbell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Campbell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
      • Campbell is located in Stokes County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Campbell
      • From Duncan to Campbell
  • Surry County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
    • Mount Herman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Albion
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Albion. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
      • Albion is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Albion
      • From Duncan to Albion
    • Flat Rock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flat Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
      • Flat Rock is located in Surry County (NC)
    • Mount Airy
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Sheltontown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Toast
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toast have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toast
      • Toast is located in Surry County (NC)
    • Holly Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Westfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
      • Westfield is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westfield <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Duncan ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Duncan.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Big Sand Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Big Sand Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Big Sand Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Duncan Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Duncan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Duncan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • White Rock Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White Rock Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the White Rock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cox Family Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Hollandsworth Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Quesenberry Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Quesenberry Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Quesenberry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jim Quesenberry Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Sowers Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sowers Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sowers Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Quesenberry Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Quesenberry Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Quesenberry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Greenberry Duncan Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Tade Quesenberry Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tade Quesenberry Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tade Quesenberry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Quesenberry Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Quesenberry Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Quesenberry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (690 more) ...
    • Turman Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Turman Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Turman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Mitchell Chapel Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mitchell Chapel Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mitchell Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Mannon Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mannon Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mannon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Duncan had a population of 13 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

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

Newspapers Published in Duncan ...

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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Duncan.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Duncan, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Duncan.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Duncan:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Duncan. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Floyd County: www.fin.org/

The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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.
<5>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- Duncan) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Duncan. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.9119, Longitude: -80.4903       In this case, the coordinates for Duncan have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>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 Duncan, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025