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Home >> State of North Carolina >> Brunswick County >> Half Hell >> 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 Half Hell (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 Half Hell. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Half Hell is located in Brunswick 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 Brunswick County: Columbus, New Hanover, Pender & Horry (SC).

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

  • Brunswick County     (The home county of Half Hell)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Half Hell, with the one closest to Half Hell listed first.
    • Bolivia
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Boiling Spring Lakes
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Boiling Spring Lakes is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Spring Lakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,430 people
    • Saint James
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Saint James is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint James
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,607 people
    • Supply
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Winnabow
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Oak Island
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Varnamtown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Varnamtown is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varnamtown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
    • Town Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Town Creek is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Creek
    • Long Beach
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Long Beach is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Beach
    • Yaupon Beach
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Yaupon Beach is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yaupon Beach
    • Sivey Town
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Sivey Town is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sivey Town
    • Caswell Beach
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Southport
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Bladen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Half Hell, with the one closest to Half Hell listed first.
    • East Arcadia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • East Arcadia is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Arcadia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 470 people
    • Kelly
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Kelly is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
    • Long View
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Long View is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long View
  • Columbus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Half Hell, with the one closest to Half Hell listed first.
    • Acme
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Acme is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
    • Delco
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Armour
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Armour is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armour
    • Riegelwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Byrdville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Byrdville is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byrdville
    • Sandyfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Sandyfield is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandyfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 415 people
    • Bolton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Pireway
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Pireway is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pireway
    • Lake Waccamaw
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bug Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Bug Hill is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bug Hill
    • Nakina
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Nakina is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nakina
  • New Hanover County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Half Hell, with the one closest to Half Hell listed first.
    • Carolina Beach
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Kure Beach
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Sea Breeze
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Sea Breeze is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sea Breeze
    • Silver Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Silver Lake is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
    • Myrtle Grove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Myrtle Grove is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle Grove
    • Wilmington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hightsville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Hightsville is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightsville
    • Masonboro
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Masonboro is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masonboro
    • Seagate
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Seagate is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seagate
    • Wrightsboro
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Wrightsboro is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightsboro
    • Kings Grant
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Kings Grant is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Grant
    • Smith Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Smith Creek is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Creek
    • Windemere
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Windemere is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windemere
  • Pender County
  • Horry County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Half Hell, with the one closest to Half Hell listed first.
    • Little River
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar Creek Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Cedar Creek Village is located in Horry County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek Village

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

Cemeteries Near Half Hell ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Half Hell.

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 Half Hell - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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

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

  • Supply
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Winnabow
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Town Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Town Creek is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Creek
  • Southport
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Shallotte
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Malmo
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Malmo is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malmo
  • Makatoka
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Makatoka is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Makatoka
  • Navassa
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Navassa is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navassa
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,534 people
  • Northwest
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Northwest is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
  • Phoenix
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Phoenix is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phoenix
  • Exum
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Exum is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exum
  • Wilmington
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Freeman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Freeman is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
    • Armour
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Armour is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armour
    • Byrdville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Byrdville is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byrdville

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

Newspapers Published in Half Hell ...

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 91 newspapers that have been published in the area around Half Hell.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Half Hell, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Half Hell.

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 Half Hell:

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