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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 Greenwood (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 Greenwood. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Greenwood is located in Orange 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 Orange County: Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Durham & Person.

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

  • Orange County     (The home county of Greenwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenwood, with the one closest to Greenwood listed first.
    • Davie Circle
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Davie Circle is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davie Circle
    • Tenney Circle
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Tenney Circle is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenney Circle
    • Mount Bolus
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Mount Bolus is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Bolus
    • Chapel Hill
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Summerfield Crossing
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Summerfield Crossing is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield Crossing
    • Ashley Forest
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Ashley Forest is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashley Forest
    • Lake Ellen
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Ellen is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ellen
    • Carolwoods
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Carolwoods is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolwoods
    • Cedar Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Cedar Hill is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
    • Timberlyne
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Timberlyne is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlyne
    • Dogwood Acres
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Dogwood Acres is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood Acres
    • Carrboro
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Spring Valley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Spring Valley is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
  • Alamance County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenwood, with the one closest to Greenwood listed first.
    • Mandale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Mandale is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandale
    • Eli Whitney
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Eli Whitney is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eli Whitney
    • Saxapahaw
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Sutphin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Sutphin is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutphin
    • Brook Hollow
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Brook Hollow is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brook Hollow
    • Buena Vista Estates
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Buena Vista Estates is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista Estates
    • Hawfields
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Hawfields is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawfields
    • Mebane
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Mebane is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mebane
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,732 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mebane <1>
    • Melville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Melville is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
    • Stagecoach Trail
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Stagecoach Trail is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach Trail
    • Florence Town
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Florence Town is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence Town
    • Cooper Estates
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Cooper Estates is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper Estates
    • Swepsonville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Swepsonville is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swepsonville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,386 people
  • Caswell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenwood, with the one closest to Greenwood listed first.
    • Prospect Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Prospect Hill is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Hill
    • Ridgeville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Ridgeville is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
    • Anderson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Anderson is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
  • Chatham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenwood, with the one closest to Greenwood listed first.
    • Fearrington Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Fearrington Village is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fearrington Village
    • Bynum
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bynum is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
    • Cary
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • Pittsboro
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Haywood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Haywood is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood
    • Moncure
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Brickhaven
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Brickhaven is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickhaven
    • Corinth
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Corinth is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
    • Farmville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Goldston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Siler City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bear Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Bear Creek is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
    • Bonlee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Bonlee is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonlee
  • Durham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenwood, with the one closest to Greenwood listed first.
    • Parkwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Parkwood is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
    • The American Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • The American Village is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The American Village
    • Durham
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Brassfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Brassfield is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
    • Nelson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Nelson is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
    • Morrisville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Gorman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Gorman is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
    • Bahama
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Rougemont
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Hampton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Hampton is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
  • Franklin County
    • Wake Forest
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Granville County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenwood, with the one closest to Greenwood listed first.
    • Butner
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lyons
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Lyons is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
    • Creedmoor
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hester
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hester is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hester
    • Mount Energy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Energy is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Energy
    • Stem
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Stem is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stem
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 474 people
    • Wilton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Wilton is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
    • Tar River
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Tar River is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tar River
  • Harnett County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenwood, with the one closest to Greenwood listed first.
    • Duncan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Duncan is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
    • Cokesbury
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Cokesbury is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokesbury
    • Rawls
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Rawls is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawls
    • Chalybeate Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Chalybeate Springs is located in Harnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenwood, with the one closest to Greenwood listed first.
    • Osgood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Osgood is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osgood
    • Colon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Colon is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colon
    • Cumnock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Cumnock is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumnock
    • Glenwood Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Glenwood Village is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Village
    • Green Valley Estates
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Wildwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Wildwood is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
    • San-Lee Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • San-Lee Park is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San-Lee Park
  • Person County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenwood, with the one closest to Greenwood listed first.
    • Hurdle Mills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Cates
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Cates is located in Person County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cates
    • Mount Tirzah
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Mount Tirzah is located in Person County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tirzah
    • Timberlake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Moriah
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Moriah is located in Person County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moriah
    • Allens Level
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Allens Level is located in Person County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Level
    • Roseville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Roseville is located in Person County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
  • Randolph County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenwood, with the one closest to Greenwood listed first.
    • Liberty
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Staley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Wake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greenwood, with the one closest to Greenwood listed first.
    • Hazelwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Hazelwood is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
    • Apex
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • Dutchess Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Dutchess Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchess Village
    • New Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Indian Trail
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Indian Trail is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Trail
    • Pickwick Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Pickwick Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickwick Village
    • Meredith Townes
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Meredith Townes is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith Townes
    • Woodbury Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Woodbury Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbury Village
    • Holly Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Method
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Method is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Method
    • Glenwood Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Glenwood Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Village
    • Hollemans Crossroads
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Hollemans Crossroads is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollemans Crossroads
      • Former names for Hollemans Crossroads:
      • Collins
      • Enno
    • Fairmont
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Fairmont is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont

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

Cemeteries Near Greenwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Greenwood.

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 Greenwood - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Sparrows Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Partin Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • McCauley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Riggsbee Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Tilley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Restland Memorial Gardens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Cheek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Manns Chapel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Beechwood Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Glenview Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Maplewood Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (112 more) ...

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 Greenwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Greenwood.

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

  • Chapel Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Blackwood
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Blackwood is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwood
  • Durham
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Nelson
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Nelson is located in Durham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
  • Brassfield
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Brassfield is located in Durham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
  • Bynum
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bynum is located in Chatham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
  • Teer
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Teer is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teer
  • Hillsborough
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Morrisville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Oaks
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Oaks is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaks
  • Efland
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Pittsboro
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Apex
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • Cary
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • New Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Greenwood ...

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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Greenwood.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Greenwood, 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 Greenwood.

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 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 Greenwood:

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 Greenwood, 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- Greenwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.