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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 Light (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 Light. 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 southeast 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 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.

Light is located in Davidson 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 Davidson County: Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Montgomery, Randolph, Rowan & Stanly.

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

  • Davidson County     (The home county of Light)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Light, with the one closest to Light listed first.
    • Eden ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Eden is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
    • Fair Grove
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Fair Grove is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Grove
    • Thomasville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Holly Grove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Holly Grove is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Grove
    • Silver Valley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Silver Valley is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Valley
    • Cedar Grove
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Cedar Grove is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
    • Jefferson Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jefferson Village is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Village
    • Lexington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Silver Hill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Silver Hill is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Hill
    • Bethany ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Bethany is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
    • Welcome
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Cotton Grove
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Cotton Grove is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Grove
    • Midway
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Midway is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,951 people
  • Davie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Light, with the one closest to Light listed first.
    • Advance
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Clinton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Clinton is located in Davie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
    • Bermuda Run
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Cooleemee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Ephesus
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Ephesus is located in Davie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ephesus
    • Mocksville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Pino
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Pino is located in Davie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pino
  • Forsyth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Light, with the one closest to Light listed first.
    • Horneytown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Horneytown is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horneytown
    • Yorktown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Yorktown is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorktown
    • Rosemont
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Rosemont is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont
    • Beeson Crossroads
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Beeson Crossroads is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beeson Crossroads
    • Sedge Garden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Sedge Garden is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedge Garden
    • Waughtown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Waughtown is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waughtown
    • Kernersville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Sun Meadows
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Sun Meadows is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Meadows
    • Muddy Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Muddy Creek is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddy Creek
    • Christy Acres
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Christy Acres is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christy Acres
    • Cityview
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Cityview is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cityview
    • East Winston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • East Winston is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Winston
    • Ardmore
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Ardmore is located in Forsyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardmore
  • Guilford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Light, with the one closest to Light listed first.
    • Allen Jay
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Allen Jay is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen Jay
    • High Point
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Sherwood Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Sherwood Village is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood Village
    • Freeman Mill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Freeman Mill is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Mill
    • Jamestown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Kirkman Crossroad
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Kirkman Crossroad is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman Crossroad
    • Sandy Ridge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Sandy Ridge is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
    • Colfax
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Guilford College
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Guilford College is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford College
    • Latham Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Latham Town is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latham Town
    • Pleasant Garden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pomona
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Pomona is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
    • Climax
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Light, with the one closest to Light listed first.
    • Blaine
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Blaine is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
    • Eldorado
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Eldorado is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
    • Ophir
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Ophir is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ophir
    • Abner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Abner is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abner
    • Asbury
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Asbury is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
    • Allreds
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Allreds is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allreds
  • Randolph County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Light, with the one closest to Light listed first.
    • Trinity
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Archdale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • New Market
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • New Market is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
    • Sophia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Mechanic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Mechanic is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanic
    • Randleman
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Worthville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Worthville is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
    • Asheboro
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Central Falls
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Central Falls is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Falls
    • Millboro
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Millboro is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millboro
    • Cedar Falls
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Cedar Falls is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Falls
    • Redcross
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Redcross is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redcross
    • Eleazer
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Eleazer is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eleazer
  • Rowan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Light, with the one closest to Light listed first.
    • Morgan Ford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Morgan Ford is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Ford
    • Pooletown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Pooletown is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pooletown
    • Trading Ford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Trading Ford is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trading Ford
    • Craven
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Craven is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craven
    • Yadkin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Yadkin is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yadkin
    • East Spencer
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • East Spencer is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Spencer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
    • Spencer
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Shannon Park
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Shannon Park is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannon Park
    • Liberty
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Liberty is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
    • Woodbine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Woodbine is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine
    • Ellis Crossroads
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Ellis Crossroads is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis Crossroads
    • Eastwood Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Eastwood Village is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood Village
    • Timbercreek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Timbercreek is located in Rowan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timbercreek
  • Stanly County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Light, with the one closest to Light listed first.
    • Richfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Misenheimer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Misenheimer is located in Stanly County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Misenheimer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 742 people
    • New London
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Palmerville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Palmerville is located in Stanly County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmerville
    • Badin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Stokes County
    • Fulp
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Fulp is located in Stokes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulp
  • Yadkin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Light, with the one closest to Light listed first.
    • Huntsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Huntsville is located in Yadkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
    • Wyo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Wyo is located in Yadkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyo

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

Cemeteries Near Light ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Light.

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

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

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

  • Emanuel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Fair Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Mills Home Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Johnsontown Methodist Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Andrews Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Holly Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Rich Fork Baptist Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Pilgrim Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Pilgrim Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Becks Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Workman Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (142 more) ...
    • Lexington City Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Cedar Springs Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Floral Garden Memorial Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Light had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Fair Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Fair Grove is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Grove
  • Thomasville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Jimes ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jimes is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimes
  • Trinity
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Cid
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Cid is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cid
  • Lexington
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Silver Hill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Silver Hill is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Hill
  • Progress
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Progress is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progress
  • Archdale
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Bethany ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bethany is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
  • Glenola
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Glenola is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenola
  • High Point
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Welcome
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Midway
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Midway is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,951 people
    • Arnold
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Arnold is located in Davidson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold

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

Newspapers Published in Light ...

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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Light.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Light, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Light.

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 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 Light:

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 Light, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Light) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.