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 Grays Chapel (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 Grays Chapel. 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 Grays Chapel ...
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.
While the name of this community is Grays Chapel, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Grays Chapel may originally have been Gray's Chapel.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Grays Chapel might be written as Gray Chapel.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Grays Chapel. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Grays Chapel.
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 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.
Grays Chapel 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 Grays Chapel. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Grays Chapel:
- Randolph County (The home county of Grays Chapel)
- The following are listed by their distance from Grays Chapel, with the one closest to Grays Chapel listed first.
- Melanchton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Melanchton is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melanchton
- Millboro
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Millboro is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millboro
- Redcross
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Redcross is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redcross
- Cedar Falls
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Cedar Falls is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Falls
- Worthville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Worthville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
- Franklinville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Central Falls
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Central Falls is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Falls
- Randleman
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Ramseur
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Staley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- New Market
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- New Market is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
- Alamance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grays Chapel, with the one closest to Grays Chapel listed first.
- Pleasant Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Kimesville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kimesville is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimesville
- Snow Camp
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Rock Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Creek is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Alamance
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Alamance is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamance
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,047 people
- The Country
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- The Country is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Country
- Pickwood Hills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Pickwood Hills is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickwood Hills
- Bellemont
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bellemont is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellemont
- Glenwood Acres
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Glenwood Acres is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Acres
- Kellam Place
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Kellam Place is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellam Place
- Mark View
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mark View is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mark View
- Pinewood Acres
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pinewood Acres is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood Acres
- Chatham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grays Chapel, with the one closest to Grays Chapel listed first.
- Siler City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bennett
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bonlee
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bonlee is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonlee
- Bear Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bear Creek is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
- Goldston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Carbonton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Carbonton is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbonton
- Pittsboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Gulf
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gulf is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf
- Davidson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grays Chapel, with the one closest to Grays Chapel listed first.
- Eden ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Eden is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Fair Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Fair Grove is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Grove
- Thomasville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Silver Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Silver Valley is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Valley
- Abotts Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Abotts Creek is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abotts Creek
- Complex
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Complex is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Complex
- Denton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Handy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Handy is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handy
- Bethany ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bethany is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
- Holly Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Holly Grove is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Grove
- Cedar Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Cedar Grove is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Silver Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Silver Hill is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Hill
- Forsyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grays Chapel, with the one closest to Grays Chapel listed first.
- Horneytown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Horneytown is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horneytown
- Yorktown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Yorktown is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorktown
- Beeson Crossroads
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Beeson Crossroads is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beeson Crossroads
- Kernersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Applegate
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Applegate is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Applegate
- Benefit ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Benefit is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benefit
- Christy Acres
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Christy Acres is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christy Acres
- Cliffwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cliffwood is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffwood
- Emorywood Estates
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Emorywood Estates is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emorywood Estates
- High Meadows
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- High Meadows is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Meadows
- Sedge Garden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sedge Garden is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedge Garden
- Sun Meadows
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sun Meadows is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Meadows
- Guilford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grays Chapel, with the one closest to Grays Chapel listed first.
- Climax
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Julian
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Garden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Forest Oaks
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Forest Oaks is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Oaks
- Freeman Mill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Freeman Mill is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Mill
- Kirkman Crossroad
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Kirkman Crossroad is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman Crossroad
- Southmont
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Southmont is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southmont
- Allen Jay
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Allen Jay is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen Jay
- Latham Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Latham Town is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latham Town
- Cumberland
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Cumberland is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Greensboro
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Jamestown
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grays Chapel, with the one closest to Grays Chapel listed first.
- Asbury
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Asbury is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
- Abner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Abner is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abner
- Allreds
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Allreds is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allreds
- Ether
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Ether is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ether
- Ophir
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ophir is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ophir
- Star
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Blaine
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Blaine is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
- Eldorado
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Eldorado is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
- Moore County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grays Chapel, with the one closest to Grays Chapel listed first.
- Jugtown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Jugtown is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jugtown
- Dover
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Dover is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Robbins
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Parkwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Parkwood is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Orange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grays Chapel, with the one closest to Grays Chapel listed first.
- Oaks
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Oaks is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaks
- Teer
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Teer is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teer
- Orange Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Orange Grove is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Grove
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Grays Chapel, see our County-by-County Page for Grays Chapel.
Cemeteries Near Grays Chapel ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Grays Chapel.
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 Grays Chapel - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Grays Chapel covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Grays Chapel, with the one closest to Grays Chapel listed first.
- Sandy Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- 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]<3> 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 <4>
- Old Salem Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Holly Chapel Pentecostal Holiness Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- McMasters Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Old McMasters Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Randolph Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sunset Knoll Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- 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 <4>
- Amose Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Gilmore Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Old Shady Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Olivers Chapel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Fairview Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Continue List (95 more) ...
- Harshaw Grove MB Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- John Wesley Stand Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Kildee Wesleyan Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Grays Chapel had a population of 43 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Grays Chapel, with the one closest to Grays Chapel listed first.
- Millboro
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Millboro is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millboro
- Worthville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Worthville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
- Cedar Falls
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Cedar Falls is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Falls
- Central Falls
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Central Falls is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Falls
- Franklinville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Randleman
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Ramseur
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Julian
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Climax
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Liberty
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Level Cross
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Level Cross is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Level Cross
- Staley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- New Market
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- New Market is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
- Sophia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Kimesville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kimesville is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimesville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Grays Chapel. See our List of 1890's Communities around Grays Chapel.
Newspapers Published in Grays Chapel ...
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 80 newspapers that have been published in the area around Grays Chapel.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Grays Chapel, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Grays Chapel.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Grays Chapel:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Randolph County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alamance County
- Chatham County
- Davidson County
- Forsyth County
- Guilford 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Grays Chapel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <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 Grays Chapel, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |