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 Bald Head Island (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 Bald Head Island. 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 Bald Head Island ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Bald Head Island: Bald Head Is. (in Canada, 'Isld.' is the more common abbreviation.)

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

Bald Head Island is located in Brunswick County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Brunswick County: Columbus, New Hanover, Pender & Horry (SC).

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

• Brunswick County     (The home county of Bald Head Island)
  • The following are listed by their distance from Bald Head Island, with the one closest to Bald Head Island listed first.
  • Caswell Beach
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caswell Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caswell Beach
    • Caswell Beach is located in Brunswick County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 438 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Caswell Beach <2>
  • Southport
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southport
    • Southport is located in Brunswick County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,088 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Southport <2>
  • Long Beach
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Beach
    • Long Beach is located in Brunswick County
  • Yaupon Beach
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yaupon Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yaupon Beach
    • Yaupon Beach is located in Brunswick County
  • Oak Island
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Island have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Island
    • Oak Island is located in Brunswick County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,735 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oak Island <2>
  • Saint James
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint James have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint James
    • Saint James is located in Brunswick County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,607 people
  • Boiling Spring Lakes
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boiling Spring Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Spring Lakes
    • Boiling Spring Lakes is located in Brunswick County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,430 people
  • Varnamtown
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Varnamtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varnamtown
    • Varnamtown is located in Brunswick County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
  • Bolivia
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bolivia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolivia
    • Bolivia is located in Brunswick County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bolivia <2>
  • Old Town
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
    • Old Town is located in Brunswick County
  • Holden Beach
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holden Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holden Beach
    • Holden Beach is located in Brunswick County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 675 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holden Beach <2>
  • Sivey Town
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sivey Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sivey Town
    • Sivey Town is located in Brunswick County
• New Hanover County
  • The following are listed by their distance from Bald Head Island, with the one closest to Bald Head Island listed first.
  • Kure Beach
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kure Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kure Beach
    • Kure Beach is located in New Hanover County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,077 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kure Beach <2>
  • Carolina Beach
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carolina Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Beach
    • Carolina Beach is located in New Hanover County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,369 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carolina Beach <2>
  • Sea Breeze
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sea Breeze have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sea Breeze
    • Sea Breeze is located in New Hanover County
  • Myrtle Grove
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Myrtle Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle Grove
    • Myrtle Grove is located in New Hanover County
  • Silver Lake
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
    • Silver Lake is located in New Hanover County
  • Masonboro
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Masonboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masonboro
    • Masonboro is located in New Hanover County
  • Wilmington
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
    • Wilmington is located in New Hanover County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 124,794 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilmington <2>
  • Seagate
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seagate have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seagate
    • Seagate is located in New Hanover County
  • Wrightsville Beach
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wrightsville Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightsville Beach
    • Wrightsville Beach is located in New Hanover County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,516 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wrightsville Beach <2>
  • Windemere
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Windemere have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windemere
    • Windemere is located in New Hanover County
  • Hightsville
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hightsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightsville
    • Hightsville is located in New Hanover County
  • Kings Grant
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kings Grant have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Grant
    • Kings Grant is located in New Hanover County

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

Cemeteries Near Bald Head Island ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bald Head Island.

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 Bald Head Island covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

• John N. Smith Cemetery
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the John N. Smith Cemetery
  • The John N. Smith Cemetery has also been known as:
  • Smith Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #48796 <3>
• Sacred Heart Catholic Church Cemetery
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sacred Heart Catholic Church Cemetery
• Bethel Cemetery
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Federal Point Cemetery
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Federal Point Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Federal Point Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Drew Cemetery
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Drew Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Drew Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Zion Hill Baptist Church Cemetery
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Hill Baptist Church Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2490374 <3>
• Oak Grove Cemetery
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Oak Grove Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
  • To give a relative sense of its location, the Oak Grove Cemetery is located in Wilmington.
  • The Oak Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
  • Hanks Chapel Cemetery
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2485215 <3>
• Mercer Cemetery
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mercer Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mercer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Freeman Cemetery
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Freeman Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Freeman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Georgetown Cemetery
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Georgetown Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Georgetown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Forest Lawn Cemetery
  (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Lawn Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Lawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Randolph Cemetery
  (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Randolph Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Randolph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Continue List   (40 more) ...
  • Union Chapel Pentecostal Church Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Chapel Pentecostal Church Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Union Chapel Pentecostal Church Cemetery is located in Supply.
    • The Union Chapel Pentecostal Church Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Union Chapel Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2144586 <3>
  • Galloway Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Galloway Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Galloway Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Concord UMC Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Concord UMC Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2145079 <3>

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.<5>

While we didn't find Bald Head Island in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bald Head Island.

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

• Southport
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southport
  • Southport is located in Brunswick County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,088 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Southport <2>
• Supply
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Supply have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Supply
  • Supply is located in Brunswick County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Supply <2>
• Winnabow
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winnabow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnabow
  • Winnabow is located in Brunswick County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winnabow <2>
• Town Creek
  (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Town Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Creek
  • Town Creek is located in Brunswick County
• Shallotte
  (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shallotte
  • Shallotte is located in Brunswick County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,409 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shallotte <2>
• Wilmington
  (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
  • Wilmington is located in New Hanover County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 124,794 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilmington <2>
• Wrightsville
  (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wrightsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightsville
  • Wrightsville is located in New Hanover County
• Malmo
  (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Malmo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malmo
  • Malmo is located in Brunswick County
• Navassa
  (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Navassa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navassa
  • Navassa is located in Brunswick County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,534 people
• Wrightsboro
  (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wrightsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightsboro
  • Wrightsboro is located in New Hanover County
• Makatoka
  (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Makatoka
  • Makatoka is located in Brunswick County
• Phoenix
  (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Phoenix. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phoenix
  • Phoenix is located in Brunswick County

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

Newspapers Published in Bald Head Island ...

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 91 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bald Head Island.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bald Head Island, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bald Head Island.

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 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 Bald Head Island:

• Websites specific to North Carolina
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Website for the //archives.ncdcr.gov/

• Pages specific to Brunswick County
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Genealogy information for nearby counties
  • New Hanover County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Cemetery Information and Directories for North Carolina
  • Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of North Carolina
  • Cyndi's List
  • Cemeteries of North Carolina
  • Cemeteries of Brunswick County
  • FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of North Carolina
  • Find-A-Grave: Home Page
  • Interment.net
  • Cemeteries of North Carolina

Off-the-Road Links ...

The official website for Bald Head Island: www.villagebhi.org/

The official website for Brunswick County: www.brunsco.net/

The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/