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 Laws (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 Laws. 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 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.
Laws 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 Laws. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Laws:
- Orange County (The home county of Laws)
- The following are listed by their distance from Laws, with the one closest to Laws listed first.
- Kindful Acres
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kindful Acres is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kindful Acres
- Deer Run
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Deer Run is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Run
- Green Pines
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Green Pines is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Pines
- Larry Hall
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Larry Hall is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larry Hall
- McDade
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- McDade is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDade
- Berryland
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Berryland is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryland
- Arrowhead
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Arrowhead is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead
- Springcrest Meadows
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Springcrest Meadows is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springcrest Meadows
- Cedar Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Grove is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Carr
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Carr is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carr
- Just-A-Mere Landing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Just-A-Mere Landing is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Just-A-Mere Landing
- Caldwell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Caldwell is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caldwell
- Alamance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Laws, with the one closest to Laws listed first.
- Just Crossroads
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Just Crossroads is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Just Crossroads
- Mebane
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Stagecoach Trail
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Stagecoach Trail is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach Trail
- Pleasant Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Woodlawn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Woodlawn is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
- Brook Hollow
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Brook Hollow is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brook Hollow
- Buena Vista Estates
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Buena Vista Estates is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista Estates
- Florence Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Florence Town is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence Town
- Green Level
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Green Level is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Level
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,341 people
- McCray
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- McCray is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCray
- Union Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Union Ridge is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Ridge
- Haw River
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Caswell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Laws, with the one closest to Laws listed first.
- Prospect Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Prospect Hill is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Hill
- Ridgeville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Ridgeville is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Leasburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Anderson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Anderson is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Jericho
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Jericho is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- Yanceyville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Stony Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Stony Creek is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
- Semora
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- West Yanceyville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- West Yanceyville is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yanceyville
- Estelle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Estelle is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
- Blanch
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Locust Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Locust Hill is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Chatham County
- Fearrington Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Fearrington Village is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fearrington Village
- Durham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Laws, with the one closest to Laws listed first.
- Rougemont
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Bahama
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Hampton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Hampton is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- The American Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- The American Village is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The American Village
- Durham
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Gorman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Gorman is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
- Brassfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Brassfield is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
- Parkwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Parkwood is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Nelson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Nelson is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
- Granville County
- The following are listed by their distance from Laws, with the one closest to Laws listed first.
- Berea
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Berea is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berea
- Butner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Lyons
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Lyons is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
- Stem
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Stem is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 474 people
- Creedmoor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hester
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hester is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hester
- Providence
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Providence is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Mount Energy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Mount Energy is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Energy
- Tar River
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Tar River is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tar River
- Wilbourns
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wilbourns is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbourns
- Clay
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Clay is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
- Oxford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Guilford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Laws, with the one closest to Laws listed first.
- Gibsonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Whitsett
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sedalia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Sedalia is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 689 people
- Person County
- The following are listed by their distance from Laws, with the one closest to Laws listed first.
- Hurdle Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Allens Level
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Allens Level is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Level
- Cates
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cates is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cates
- Roseville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Roseville is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
- Timberlake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Whitt Town
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Whitt Town is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitt Town
- Mount Tirzah
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Mount Tirzah is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tirzah
- Hicks Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hicks Village is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks Village
- Roxboro
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Concord
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Concord is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Ceffo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Ceffo is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceffo
- Allensville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Allensville is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allensville
- Rockingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Laws, with the one closest to Laws listed first.
- Lawsonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lawsonville is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
- Ruffin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Danville City (VA)
- Danville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Halifax County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Laws, with the one closest to Laws listed first.
- Alton
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Delila
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Delila is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delila
- Harmony
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Harmony is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Mayo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mayo is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayo
- Sutherlin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Sutherlin is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherlin
- Cluster Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Cluster Springs is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cluster Springs
- Virgilina
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Elmo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Elmo is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmo
- Pittsylvania County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Laws, with the one closest to Laws listed first.
- Kentuck
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Kentuck is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Laurel Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Laurel Grove is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Grove
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Laws, see our County-by-County Page for Laws.
Cemeteries Near Laws ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Laws.
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 Laws - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Laws covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Laws, with the one closest to Laws listed first.
- Wheelers Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Clement Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Salem Methodist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Old Eno Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Temple of Light Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple of Light Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Temple of Light Church Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<2> to the north of Hillsborough.
- The Temple of Light Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mt. Zion AME Church Cemetery
- Mt. Zion Memorial Gardens
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2254144 <3>
- Cooper Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Zion United Methodist Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Harmony Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Griers Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- County Home Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Governor Burke Grave
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Flat River Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (159 more) ...
- Griers Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rosewood Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Maplewood Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Laws had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Laws, with the one closest to Laws listed first.
- Gordonton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Gordonton is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonton
- Hurdle Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Prospect Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Prospect Hill is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Hill
- Cedar Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Grove is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Bushy Fork
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Bushy Fork is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushy Fork
- Ridgeville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Ridgeville is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Corbett
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Corbett is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corbett
- Roseville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Roseville is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
- Timberlake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Hightowers
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hightowers is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightowers
- Leasburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Rougemont
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Ai
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ai is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ai
- Efland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Hillsborough
(11 miles [17.7 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 Laws. See our List of 1890's Communities around Laws.
Newspapers Published in Laws ...
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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Laws.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Laws, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Laws.
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 either 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 Laws:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Orange County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alamance County
- Caswell County
- Chatham County
- Durham County
- Granville County
- Guilford County
- Person County
- Rockingham County
- Danville City
- Halifax County
- Pittsylvania County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for North Carolina
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Laws) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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> | 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 Laws, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |