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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 Five Points (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 Five Points. 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 Five Points ...

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 Five Points: Five Pts.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Five Points. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Five Points.

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 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.

Five Points is located in Wake 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 Wake County: Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Harnett, Johnston & Nash.

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

  • Wake County     (The home county of Five Points)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Five Points, with the one closest to Five Points listed first.
    • Fuquay - Varina
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Macks Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Macks Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macks Village
    • Kennebec
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Kennebec is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennebec
    • Wilbon
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Wilbon is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbon
    • McCullers
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • McCullers is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCullers
    • Mount Pleasant
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
    • Holly Springs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hollemans Crossroads
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Hollemans Crossroads is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollemans Crossroads
      • Former names for Hollemans Crossroads:
      • Collins
      • Enno
    • Hopedale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Hopedale is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopedale
    • Apex
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Apex is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apex
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 64,388 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Apex <1>
    • Indian Trail
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Indian Trail is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Trail
    • Garner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • New Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Chatham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Five Points, with the one closest to Five Points listed first.
    • Cary
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Cary is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 173,587 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cary <1>
    • Corinth
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Corinth is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
    • Brickhaven
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Brickhaven is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickhaven
    • Haywood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Haywood is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood
    • Moncure
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Fearrington Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Fearrington Village is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fearrington Village
    • Bynum
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Bynum is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
    • Pittsboro
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Farmville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Gulf
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Gulf is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Five Points, with the one closest to Five Points listed first.
    • Linden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Godwin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Falcon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Falcon is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falcon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 250 people
    • Wade
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Wade is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 588 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wade <1>
    • Manchester
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Manchester is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
  • Durham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Five Points, with the one closest to Five Points listed first.
    • Morrisville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Nelson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Nelson is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
    • Parkwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Parkwood is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
    • Brassfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Brassfield is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
    • Durham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Gorman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Gorman is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
  • Franklin County
    • Wake Forest
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Harnett County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Five Points, with the one closest to Five Points listed first.
    • Rawls
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Rawls is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawls
    • Angier
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Chalybeate Springs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Chalybeate Springs is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
    • Duncan
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Duncan is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
    • Kipling
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Kipling is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipling
    • Barclaysville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Barclaysville is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclaysville
    • Cokesbury
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Cokesbury is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokesbury
    • Buies Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Cape Fear
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Coats
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Coats is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coats
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,520 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coats <1>
    • Lillington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Luart
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Luart is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luart
    • Mamers
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Mamers is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mamers
  • Johnston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Five Points, with the one closest to Five Points listed first.
    • Willow Springs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Willow Springs is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
    • Clayton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Benson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Allens Crossroads
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Allens Crossroads is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Crossroads
    • Four Oaks
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Archer Lodge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Archer Lodge is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archer Lodge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,322 people
      • Archer Lodge has also been known as:
      • Archer
    • Wilson's Mills
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Wilson's Mills is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson's Mills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,847 people
    • West Smithfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • West Smithfield is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Smithfield
    • Smithfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Fairfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Fairfield is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
    • Peacocks Crossroads
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Peacocks Crossroads is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peacocks Crossroads
    • Selma
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Selma is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,323 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Selma <1>
    • McKoy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • McKoy is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKoy
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Five Points, with the one closest to Five Points listed first.
    • Broadway
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Edgewater Estates
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Edgewater Estates is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater Estates
    • Osgood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Osgood is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osgood
    • Carolina Trace
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Carolina Trace is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Trace
    • Colon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Colon is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colon
    • San-Lee Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • San-Lee Park is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San-Lee Park
    • Jonesboro Heights
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jonesboro Heights is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro Heights
    • Swann
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Swann is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swann
    • Sanford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Saint Andrews
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Andrews is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrews
    • Green Valley Estates
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Parkwood Estates
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Parkwood Estates is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood Estates
    • Glenwood Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Glenwood Village is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Village
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Five Points, with the one closest to Five Points listed first.
    • Dogwood Acres
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Dogwood Acres is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood Acres
    • Greenwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Greenwood is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
    • Chapel Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Davie Circle
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Davie Circle is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davie Circle
    • Tenney Circle
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Tenney Circle is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenney Circle
    • Mount Bolus
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Bolus is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Bolus
    • Summerfield Crossing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Summerfield Crossing is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield Crossing
    • Ashley Forest
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Ashley Forest is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashley Forest
    • Carrboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Cedar Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Cedar Hill is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
    • Lake Ellen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Ellen is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ellen
    • Oak Hills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Oak Hills is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hills
    • Spring Valley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Spring Valley is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
  • Sampson County
    • Plain View
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Plain View is located in Sampson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plain View

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

Cemeteries Near Five Points ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Five Points.

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 Five Points - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Aldridge Partin Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • St. Augusta MB Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Willow Spring Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Greenlawn Memorial Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Wake Chapel Memorial Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Stephens Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Womack Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Sorrell Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Morgan Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Jeridan Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Rand Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (228 more) ...
    • Williams Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jones Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Smith Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)

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.<4>

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

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

  • Banks
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Banks is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
  • Holly Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Barclaysville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Barclaysville is located in Harnett County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclaysville
  • Apex
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Apex is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apex
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 64,388 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Apex <1>
  • Garner
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • New Hill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Cary
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Cary is located in Chatham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cary
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 173,587 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cary <1>
  • Lillington
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Auburn
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Auburn is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
  • Asbury
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Asbury is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
  • Corinth
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Corinth is located in Chatham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
  • Raleigh
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Method
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Method is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Method
    • Merry Oaks
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Merry Oaks is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merry Oaks
    • Morrisville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Five Points ...

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 278 newspapers that have been published in the area around Five Points.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Five Points, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Five Points.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Five Points:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Five Points) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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>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 Five Points, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.