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 Florence (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 Florence. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.
Florence is located in Guilford 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 Guilford County: Alamance, Caswell, Davidson, Forsyth, Randolph, Rockingham & Stokes.
Below are the counties that are near Florence. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Florence:
- Guilford County (The home county of Florence)
- The following are listed by their distance from Florence, with the one closest to Florence listed first.
- Jamestown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sandy Ridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sandy Ridge is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
- Guilford College
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Guilford College is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford College
- Sherwood Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Sherwood Village is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood Village
- Kirkman Crossroad
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Kirkman Crossroad is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman Crossroad
- High Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Latham Town
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Latham Town is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latham Town
- Pomona
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pomona is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
- Colfax
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Allen Jay
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Allen Jay is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen Jay
- Freeman Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Freeman Mill is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Mill
- Southmont
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Southmont is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southmont
- Fairfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fairfield is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
- Alamance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Florence, with the one closest to Florence listed first.
- Kimesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Kimesville is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimesville
- The Country
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- The Country is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Country
- Glenwood Acres
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Glenwood Acres is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Acres
- Random Hills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Random Hills is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Random Hills
- Westbrook Forest
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Westbrook Forest is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Forest
- Westbrook
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Westbrook is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook
- Country Club Acres
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Country Club Acres is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Acres
- Deerfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Deerfield is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
- Elon College
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Elon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Elon is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,186 people
- Mark View
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Mark View is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mark View
- Westview Terrace
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Westview Terrace is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westview Terrace
- Westview
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Westview is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westview
- Davidson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Florence, with the one closest to Florence listed first.
- Abotts Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Abotts Creek is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abotts Creek
- Wallburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Bethany ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bethany is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
- Thomasville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fair Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fair Grove is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Grove
- Gum Tree
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Gum Tree is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Tree
- Eden ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Eden is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Midway
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Midway is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,951 people
- Welcome
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Holly Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Holly Grove is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Grove
- Jefferson Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson Village is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Village
- Arcadia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Arcadia is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Lexington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Davie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Florence, with the one closest to Florence listed first.
- Advance
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Bermuda Run
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Forsyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Florence, with the one closest to Florence listed first.
- Horneytown
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Horneytown is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horneytown
- Yorktown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Yorktown is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorktown
- Beeson Crossroads
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Beeson Crossroads is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beeson Crossroads
- Applegate
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Applegate is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Applegate
- Christy Acres
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Christy Acres is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christy Acres
- Kernersville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Benefit ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Benefit is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benefit
- Cliffwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cliffwood is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffwood
- Emorywood Estates
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Emorywood Estates is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emorywood Estates
- High Meadows
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- High Meadows is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Meadows
- Sedge Garden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sedge Garden is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedge Garden
- Sun Meadows
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sun Meadows is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Meadows
- Timber Trails
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Timber Trails is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Trails
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Florence, with the one closest to Florence listed first.
- Archdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Trinity
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- New Market
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- New Market is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
- Sophia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Randleman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Redcross
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Redcross is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redcross
- Worthville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Worthville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
- Millboro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Millboro is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millboro
- Central Falls
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Central Falls is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Falls
- Melanchton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Melanchton is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melanchton
- Cedar Falls
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Falls is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Falls
- Asheboro
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Franklinville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Rockingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Florence, with the one closest to Florence listed first.
- Wittys Crossroads
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Wittys Crossroads is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittys Crossroads
- Gold Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Gold Hill is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Hill
- Ellisboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Ellisboro is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellisboro
- Madison
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Belmont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Belmont is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Norwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Norwood is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Reidsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mayodan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Wentworth
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wentworth is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wentworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,734 people
- Shiloh
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Shiloh is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Stoneville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Stokes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Florence, with the one closest to Florence listed first.
- Fulp
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Fulp is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulp
- Pine Hall
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Walnut Cove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bailey Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bailey Town is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Town
- Germanton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Meadows
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Meadows is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
- Neatman
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Neatman is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neatman
- Upper Sawra Town ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Upper Sawra Town is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Sawra Town
- Mount Olive
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Olive is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Quaker Gap
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Quaker Gap is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Gap
- Capella
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Capella is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capella
- Danbury
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Florence, see our County-by-County Page for Florence.
Cemeteries Near Florence ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Florence.
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 Florence - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Florence covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Florence, with the one closest to Florence listed first.
- Deep River Friends Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Guilford Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Cemetery
- The Oakwood Cemetery has also been known as:
- Oakwood Memorial Park
- Oakwood Municipal Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #48279 <2>
- Green Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Carolina Biblical Gardens of Guilford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- New Garden Friends Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Floral Garden Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Abbotts Creek MB Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbotts Creek MB Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Abbotts Creek MB Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located
- The Abbotts Creek MB Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Abbotts Creek Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2186163 <2>
- Abbotts Creek Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Westminster Gardens Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Green Hill Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (182 more) ...
- Mt. Pisgah UMC Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Forest Lawn Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Eastlawn Gardens of Memory
(9 miles [14.5 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 Florence in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Florence.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Florence, with the one closest to Florence listed first.
- Deep River
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jamestown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Friendship
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Friendship is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- High Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Guilford College
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Guilford College is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford College
- Colfax
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pomona
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pomona is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
- Archdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Freeman Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Freeman Mill is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Mill
- Progress
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Progress is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progress
- Greensboro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Kernersville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Trinity
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Glenola
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Glenola is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenola
- Vandalia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Vandalia is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Florence. See our List of 1890's Communities around Florence.
Newspapers Published in Florence ...
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 97 newspapers that have been published in the area around Florence.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Florence, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Florence.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Florence:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Guilford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alamance County
- Davidson County
- Davie County
- Forsyth County
- Randolph County
- Rockingham County
- Stokes 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 Florence, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Florence) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |