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 Harpers Crossroads (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 Harpers Crossroads. 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 Harpers Crossroads ...
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.
- A typical abbreviation for Harpers Crossroads: Harpers Xrds.
- While the name of this community is Harpers Crossroads, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Harpers Crossroads may originally have been Harper's Crossroads.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Harpers Crossroads might be written as Harper Crossroads.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Harpers Crossroads. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Harpers Crossroads.
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 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.
Harpers Crossroads is located in Chatham 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 Chatham County: Alamance, Harnett, Lee, Moore, Orange, Randolph & Wake.
Below are the counties that are near Harpers Crossroads. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Harpers Crossroads:
- Chatham County (The home county of Harpers Crossroads)
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Crossroads, with the one closest to Harpers Crossroads listed first.
- Bennett
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bear Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Bear Creek is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
- Bonlee
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bonlee is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonlee
- Goldston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Carbonton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Carbonton is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbonton
- Gulf
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Gulf is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf
- Siler City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Farmville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Pittsboro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Moncure
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Haywood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Haywood is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood
- Bynum
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bynum is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Alamance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Crossroads, with the one closest to Harpers Crossroads listed first.
- Pleasant Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Snow Camp
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Mandale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mandale is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandale
- Sutphin
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Sutphin is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutphin
- Eli Whitney
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Eli Whitney is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eli Whitney
- Kimesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Kimesville is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimesville
- Saxapahaw
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Rock Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Rock Creek is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Guilford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Crossroads, with the one closest to Harpers Crossroads listed first.
- Julian
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Climax
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Harnett County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Crossroads, with the one closest to Harpers Crossroads listed first.
- Murchisontown
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Murchisontown is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murchisontown
- Olivia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Seminole
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Seminole is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminole
- Ryes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Ryes is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryes
- Pineview
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pineview is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineview
- Barbecue
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Barbecue is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barbecue
- Johnsonville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Johnsonville is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonville
- Spout Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Spout Springs is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spout Springs
- Boone Trail
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Boone Trail is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boone Trail
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Crossroads, with the one closest to Harpers Crossroads listed first.
- Cumnock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Cumnock is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumnock
- Wildwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Wildwood is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
- Glenwood Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Glenwood Village is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Village
- Green Valley Estates
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Western Hills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Western Hills is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western Hills
- Tramway
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tramway is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tramway
- White Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- White Hill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hill
- Colon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Colon is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colon
- Sanford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Quail Ridge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Quail Ridge is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Ridge
- Osgood
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Osgood is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osgood
- Parkwood Estates
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Parkwood Estates is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood Estates
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Crossroads, with the one closest to Harpers Crossroads listed first.
- Asbury
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Asbury is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
- Allreds
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Allreds is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allreds
- Ether
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ether is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ether
- Star
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Biscoe
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Candor
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Abner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Abner is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abner
- Shiloh ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Shiloh is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Troy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Troy is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,293 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Troy <2>
- Ophir
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Ophir is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ophir
- Moore County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Crossroads, with the one closest to Harpers Crossroads listed first.
- Parkwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Parkwood is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Robbins
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jugtown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Jugtown is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jugtown
- Carthage
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Dover
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dover is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Zion Grove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Zion Grove is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion Grove
- Harris
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Harris is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Seven Lakes
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Seven Lakes is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Lakes
- Cameron
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Eagle Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Whispering Pines
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Vass
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Orange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Crossroads, with the one closest to Harpers Crossroads listed first.
- Oaks
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Oaks is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaks
- Dogwood Acres
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Dogwood Acres is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood Acres
- Rangewood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rangewood is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rangewood
- Teer
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Teer is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teer
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Crossroads, with the one closest to Harpers Crossroads listed first.
- Coleridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Coleridge is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleridge
- Yow Mill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Yow Mill is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yow Mill
- Ramseur
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Staley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Franklinville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Michfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Michfield is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michfield
- Seagrove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Cedar Falls
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Falls is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Falls
- Liberty
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Asheboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Melanchton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Melanchton is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melanchton
- Central Falls
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Central Falls is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Falls
- Wake County
- New Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Harpers Crossroads, see our County-by-County Page for Harpers Crossroads.
Cemeteries Near Harpers Crossroads ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Harpers Crossroads.
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 Harpers Crossroads - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Harpers Crossroads covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Harpers Crossroads, with the one closest to Harpers Crossroads listed first.
- Cool Springs Methodist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mt. Vernon Springs Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Bray Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Grove Christian Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Concord Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Antioch Christian Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- New Zion Hill Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Rest Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Chatham Memorial Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Tempting Congregational Church Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- St. Paul AME Zion Church Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Continue List (87 more) ...
- Kildee Wesleyan Church Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Marley Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Pocket Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 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>
While we didn't find Harpers Crossroads in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Harpers Crossroads.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Harpers Crossroads, with the one closest to Harpers Crossroads listed first.
- Goldston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Cheeks
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Cheeks is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheeks
- Coleridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Coleridge is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleridge
- Gulf
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Gulf is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf
- Siler City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Carthage
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Silk Hope
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Silk Hope is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silk Hope
- Ramseur
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Staley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Franklinville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Asbury
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Asbury is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
- Pittsboro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Cedar Falls
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Falls is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Falls
- Allreds
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Allreds is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allreds
- Ether
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ether is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ether
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Harpers Crossroads. See our List of 1890's Communities around Harpers Crossroads.
Newspapers Published in Harpers Crossroads ...
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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Harpers Crossroads.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Harpers Crossroads, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Harpers Crossroads.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Harpers Crossroads:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Chatham County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alamance County
- Guilford County
- Harnett County
- Lee County
- Montgomery County
- Moore County
- Orange County
- Randolph County
- Wake 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> | 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. |
| <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- Harpers Crossroads) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Harpers Crossroads, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |