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 Browns Crossroads (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 Browns Crossroads. 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 Browns Crossroads ...
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 occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Browns Crossroads: Browns Xrds.
- While the name of this community is Browns Crossroads, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Browns Crossroads may originally have been Brown's Crossroads.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Browns Crossroads might be written as Brown Crossroads.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Browns Crossroads. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Browns Crossroads.
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 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.
Browns Crossroads is located in Randolph 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 Randolph County: Alamance, Chatham, Davidson, Guilford, Montgomery & Moore.
Below are the counties that are near Browns Crossroads. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Browns Crossroads:
- Randolph County (The home county of Browns Crossroads)
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Crossroads, with the one closest to Browns Crossroads listed first.
- Staley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Ramseur
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Franklinville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Liberty
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Melanchton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Melanchton is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melanchton
- Coleridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Coleridge is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleridge
- Cedar Falls
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Cedar Falls is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Falls
- Millboro
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Millboro is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millboro
- Redcross
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Redcross is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redcross
- Central Falls
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Central Falls is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Falls
- Worthville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Worthville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
- Asheboro
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Randleman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Alamance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Crossroads, with the one closest to Browns Crossroads listed first.
- Pleasant Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Snow Camp
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Kimesville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Kimesville is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimesville
- Sutphin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sutphin is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutphin
- Rock Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Rock Creek is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Eli Whitney
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Eli Whitney is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eli Whitney
- Mandale
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Mandale is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandale
- Alamance
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Alamance is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamance
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,047 people
- Bellemont
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Bellemont is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellemont
- Pickwood Hills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Pickwood Hills is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickwood Hills
- Saxapahaw
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- The Country
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- The Country is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Country
- Quail Hollow
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Quail Hollow is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Hollow
- Chatham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Crossroads, with the one closest to Browns Crossroads listed first.
- Siler City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bonlee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bonlee is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonlee
- Bennett
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Bear Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bear Creek is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
- Goldston
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Carbonton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Carbonton is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbonton
- Gulf
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Gulf is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf
- Pittsboro
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Farmville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bynum
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Bynum is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Fearrington Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Fearrington Village is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fearrington Village
- Moncure
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Haywood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Haywood is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood
- Davidson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Crossroads, with the one closest to Browns Crossroads listed first.
- Eden ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Eden is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Fair Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Fair Grove is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Grove
- Complex
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Complex is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Complex
- Silver Valley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Silver Valley is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Valley
- Thomasville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Denton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Guilford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Crossroads, with the one closest to Browns Crossroads listed first.
- Julian
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Climax
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Garden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Forest Oaks
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Forest Oaks is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Oaks
- Freeman Mill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Freeman Mill is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Mill
- Kirkman Crossroad
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Kirkman Crossroad is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman Crossroad
- Sedalia
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Sedalia is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 689 people
- Whitsett
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Allen Jay
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Allen Jay is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen Jay
- Southmont
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Southmont is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southmont
- Gibsonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Cumberland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Greensboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Crossroads, with the one closest to Browns Crossroads listed first.
- Cumnock
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Cumnock is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumnock
- Glenwood Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Glenwood Village is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Village
- Wildwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wildwood is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
- Green Valley Estates
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Western Hills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Western Hills is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western Hills
- Colon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Colon is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colon
- Osgood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Osgood is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osgood
- Sanford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Tramway
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Tramway is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tramway
- Parkwood Estates
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Parkwood Estates is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood Estates
- White Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- White Hill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hill
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Crossroads, with the one closest to Browns Crossroads listed first.
- Asbury
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Asbury is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
- Allreds
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Allreds is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allreds
- Ether
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Ether is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ether
- Abner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Abner is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abner
- Star
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Biscoe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ophir
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ophir is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ophir
- Shiloh ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Shiloh is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Moore County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Crossroads, with the one closest to Browns Crossroads listed first.
- Jugtown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Jugtown is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jugtown
- Robbins
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Dover
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Dover is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Parkwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Parkwood is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Carthage
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Zion Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Zion Grove is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion Grove
- Harris
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Harris is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Orange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Crossroads, with the one closest to Browns Crossroads listed first.
- Oaks
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Oaks is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaks
- Teer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Teer is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teer
- Orange Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Orange Grove is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Grove
- Dodsons Crossroads
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dodsons Crossroads is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodsons Crossroads
- Rangewood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rangewood is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rangewood
- Dogwood Acres
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Dogwood Acres is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood Acres
- Calvander
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Calvander is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvander
- Cheeks Crossroads
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cheeks Crossroads is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheeks Crossroads
- Laurel Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Laurel Springs is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Springs
- Carrboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Miles
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Miles is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles
- Spring Valley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Valley is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Browns Crossroads, see our County-by-County Page for Browns Crossroads.
Cemeteries Near Browns Crossroads ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Browns Crossroads.
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 Browns Crossroads - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Browns Crossroads covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Browns Crossroads, with the one closest to Browns Crossroads listed first.
- Kildee Wesleyan Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Marley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Holly Chapel Pentecostal Holiness Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Old Shady Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Sunset Knoll Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Knoll Cemetery
- The Sunset Knoll Cemetery has also been known as:
- First Christian Church Cemetery
- Ramseur Cemetery
- Sunset Knoll Memorial Garden
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #48889 <3>
- McMasters Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Old McMasters Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Olivers Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Old Salem Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Concord Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Sandy Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Sandy Creek Baptist Church Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<4> to the southwest of Liberty.
- The Sandy Creek Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Sandy Creek Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #713812 <3>
- Continue List (102 more) ...
- Holly Spring Friends Meeting Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bray Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Fairview Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<5>
While we didn't find Browns Crossroads in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Browns Crossroads.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Browns Crossroads, with the one closest to Browns Crossroads listed first.
- Ramseur
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Staley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Siler City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Franklinville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Coleridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Coleridge is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleridge
- Liberty
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Grays Chapel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Grays Chapel is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays Chapel
- Cedar Falls
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Cedar Falls is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Falls
- Cheeks
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Cheeks is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheeks
- Millboro
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Millboro is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millboro
- Silk Hope
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Silk Hope is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silk Hope
- Central Falls
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Central Falls is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Falls
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Julian
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Worthville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Worthville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
- Snow Camp
(13 miles [20.9 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 Browns Crossroads. See our List of 1890's Communities around Browns Crossroads.
Newspapers Published in Browns Crossroads ...
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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Browns Crossroads.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Browns Crossroads, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Browns Crossroads.
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 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 Browns Crossroads:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Randolph County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alamance County
- Chatham County
- Davidson County
- Guilford County
- Lee County
- Montgomery County
- Moore County
- Orange County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for North Carolina
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <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 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> | 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- Browns Crossroads) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <5> | 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 Browns Crossroads, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |