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 Carolina Beach (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 Carolina Beach. 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 Carolina Beach ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Carolina Beach: Carolina Bch.
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 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.
Carolina Beach is located in New Hanover 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 New Hanover County: Brunswick & Pender.
Below are the counties that are near Carolina Beach. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Carolina Beach:
- New Hanover County (The home county of Carolina Beach)
- The following are listed by their distance from Carolina Beach, with the one closest to Carolina Beach listed first.
- Sea Breeze
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Sea Breeze is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sea Breeze
- Kure Beach
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Myrtle Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Myrtle Grove is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle Grove
- Silver Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Silver Lake is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Masonboro
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Masonboro is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masonboro
- Wilmington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Seagate
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Seagate is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seagate
- Wrightsville Beach
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Windemere
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Windemere is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windemere
- Hightsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Hightsville is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightsville
- Kings Grant
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Kings Grant is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Grant
- Smith Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Smith Creek is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Creek
- Ogden
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Brunswick County
- The following are listed by their distance from Carolina Beach, with the one closest to Carolina Beach listed first.
- Old Town
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Old Town is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Boiling Spring Lakes
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Boiling Spring Lakes is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Spring Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,430 people
- Southport
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Leland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Caswell Beach
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Winnabow
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Bald Head Island
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Belville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Belville is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,135 people
- Town Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Town Creek is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Creek
- Saint James
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Saint James is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint James
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,607 people
- Bolivia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Long Beach
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Long Beach is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Beach
- Oak Island
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Columbus County
- The following are listed by their distance from Carolina Beach, with the one closest to Carolina Beach listed first.
- Acme
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Acme is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Delco
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Riegelwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Armour
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Armour is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armour
- Byrdville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Byrdville is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byrdville
- Pender County
- The following are listed by their distance from Carolina Beach, with the one closest to Carolina Beach listed first.
- Brown Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Brown Town is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown Town
- Hampstead
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Kings Landing
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kings Landing is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Landing
- Topsail
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Topsail is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topsail
- Rocky Point
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Topsail Beach
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ashton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Ashton is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Carolina Beach, see our County-by-County Page for Carolina Beach.
Cemeteries Near Carolina Beach ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Carolina Beach.
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 Carolina Beach - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Carolina Beach covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Carolina Beach, with the one closest to Carolina Beach listed first.
- Federal Point Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove Cemetery
- 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 <2>
- Drew Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Freeman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bethel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Farrow Family Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Sacred Heart Catholic Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- John N. Smith Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Masonboro Baptist Church Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Greenlawn Memorial Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Oleander Memorial Gardens
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- St. Andrews On-the-Sound Episcopal Church Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (70 more) ...
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- St. James Episcopal Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- St. Thomas Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
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>
While we didn't find Carolina Beach in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Carolina Beach.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Carolina Beach, with the one closest to Carolina Beach listed first.
- Southport
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wilmington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Wrightsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Wrightsville is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightsville
- Winnabow
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Town Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Town Creek is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Creek
- Navassa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Navassa is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navassa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,534 people
- Wrightsboro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Wrightsboro is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightsboro
- Phoenix
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Phoenix is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phoenix
- Kirkland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Kirkland is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkland
- Malmo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Malmo is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malmo
- Scotts Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Scotts Hill is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Hill
- Castle Hayne
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (10 more) ...
- Supply
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Hampstead
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Northwest
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Northwest is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
- Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Carolina Beach. See our List of 1890's Communities around Carolina Beach.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Carolina Beach ...
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 93 newspapers that have been published in the area around Carolina Beach.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Carolina Beach. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Carolina Beach and those printed in the larger area surrounding Carolina Beach.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4> of Carolina Beach.
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 Carolina Beach:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to New Hanover County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Brunswick County
- Columbus County
- Pender County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for North Carolina
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 Carolina Beach, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Carolina Beach) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |