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Home >> State of North Carolina >> Wake County >> Forest Hills >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Forest Hills (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 Forest Hills. 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 southeast 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 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.

Forest Hills 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 Forest Hills. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Forest Hills:

  • Wake County     (The home county of Forest Hills)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
    • Garner
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Hopedale
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Hopedale is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopedale
    • Auburn
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Auburn is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
    • Hertford Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hertford Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hertford Village
    • Emerald Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Emerald Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Village
    • Raleigh
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • McCullers
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • McCullers is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCullers
    • Fairmont
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Fairmont is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont
    • Skycrest Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Skycrest Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skycrest Village
    • Timberlake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Timberlake is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
    • Method
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Method is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Method
    • Macks Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Macks Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macks Village
    • Glenwood Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Glenwood Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Village
  • Chatham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
    • Cary
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Corinth is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
    • Brickhaven
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Brickhaven is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickhaven
    • Haywood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Haywood is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood
    • Moncure
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Fearrington Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Fearrington Village is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fearrington Village
    • Bynum
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Bynum is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
  • Durham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
    • Morrisville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Nelson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Nelson is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
    • Brassfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Brassfield is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
    • Parkwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Parkwood is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
    • Durham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Gorman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Gorman is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
    • The American Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • The American Village is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The American Village
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
    • Wake Forest
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Youngsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Sutton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Sutton is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutton
    • Bunn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Bunn is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 401 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bunn <1>
    • Franklinton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Katesville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Katesville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katesville
  • Granville County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
    • Creedmoor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Mount Energy
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Mount Energy is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Energy
    • Butner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Wilton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Wilton is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
  • Harnett County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
    • Angier
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Rawls
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Rawls is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawls
    • Barclaysville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Barclaysville is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclaysville
    • Chalybeate Springs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Chalybeate Springs is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
    • Duncan
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Duncan is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
    • Kipling
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Kipling is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipling
    • Coats
      (20 miles [32.2 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>
    • Cokesbury
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Cokesbury is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokesbury
    • Buies Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Cape Fear
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Turlington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Turlington is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turlington
    • Lillington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Luart
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Luart is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luart
  • Johnston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
    • Clayton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Willow Springs
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Willow Springs is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
    • Archer Lodge
      (13 miles [20.9 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
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • West Smithfield is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Smithfield
    • Four Oaks
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Smithfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairfield is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
    • Stancils Chapel
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Stancils Chapel is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stancils Chapel
    • Benson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Redwood Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Redwood Village is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood Village
    • Selma
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • Allens Crossroads
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Allens Crossroads is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Crossroads
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
    • Broadway
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Edgewater Estates
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Edgewater Estates is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater Estates
    • Osgood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Osgood is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osgood
  • Nash County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
    • Middlesex
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Middlesex is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesex
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 834 people
    • Rogers Crossroads
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Rogers Crossroads is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers Crossroads
    • Murraytown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Murraytown is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murraytown
    • Rocky Cross
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Rocky Cross is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Cross
    • Union Hope
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Union Hope is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hope
    • Samaria
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Samaria is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
    • Bailey
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Gold Valley Crossroads
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Pleasant
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
    • Frazier Crossroads
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Frazier Crossroads is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Crossroads
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
    • 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
    • Greenwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Greenwood is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
    • Chapel Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Dogwood Acres
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Dogwood Acres is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood Acres
    • 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
    • Tenney Circle
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Tenney Circle is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenney Circle
    • 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
    • Carolwoods
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Carolwoods is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolwoods
    • 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
    • Carrboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Forest Hills ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Forest Hills.

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 Forest Hills - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Hilliard Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Rand Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Mitchiner Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Carolina Biblical Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Montlawn Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Williams Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Bagwell Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Rand Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Sauls Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Raleigh National Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (211 more) ...
    • Good Samaritan Baptist Church Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Smith Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Morgan Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 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.<3>

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

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

  • Garner
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Auburn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Auburn is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
  • Raleigh
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Banks
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Banks is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
  • Milburnie
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Milburnie is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburnie
  • Method
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Method is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Method
  • Asbury
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Asbury is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
  • Clayton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Shotwell
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Shotwell is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shotwell
  • Millbrook
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Millbrook is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millbrook
  • Six Forks
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Six Forks is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Six Forks
  • Holly Springs
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Cary
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Archer Lodge
      (13 miles [20.9 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
    • Eagle Rock
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Eagle Rock is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Rock

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

Newspapers Published in Forest Hills ...

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 280 newspapers that have been published in the area around Forest Hills.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Forest Hills, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Forest Hills.

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 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 Forest Hills:

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 Forest Hills, 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 from Point A (ie- Forest Hills) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.