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 Purley (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 Purley. 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 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.
Purley is located in Caswell 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 Caswell County: Alamance, Orange, Person, Rockingham, Danville City (VA), Halifax (VA) & Pittsylvania (VA).
Below are the counties that are near Purley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Purley:
- Caswell County (The home county of Purley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Purley, with the one closest to Purley listed first.
- Providence
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Providence is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Blanch
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gatewood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gatewood is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatewood
- Yanceyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- West Yanceyville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- West Yanceyville is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yanceyville
- Bethel
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Bethel is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Estelle
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Estelle is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
- Whitetown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Whitetown is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitetown
- Pelham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Pelham is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Milton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Locust Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Locust Hill is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Quick
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Quick is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quick
- Semora
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Alamance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Purley, with the one closest to Purley listed first.
- Union Ridge
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Union Ridge is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Ridge
- Pleasant Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Clover Garden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Clover Garden is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Garden
- Just Crossroads
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Just Crossroads is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Just Crossroads
- McCray
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- McCray is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCray
- Altamahaw
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Altamahaw is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamahaw
- Lakeview
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Lakeview is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Ossipee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Ossipee is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ossipee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 593 people
- Carolina
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Carolina is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina
- Glencoe
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Glencoe is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glencoe
- Green Acres
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Green Acres is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Lakeview Estates
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Lakeview Estates is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Estates
- Birchwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Birchwood is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood
- Durham County
- Rougemont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Guilford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Purley, with the one closest to Purley listed first.
- Browns Summit
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Gibsonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Whitsett
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- McLeansville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rudd
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rudd is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudd
- Orange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Purley, with the one closest to Purley listed first.
- Carr
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Carr is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carr
- Laws
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Laws is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laws
- McDade
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- McDade is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDade
- Cedar Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Grove is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Green Pines
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Green Pines is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Pines
- Kindful Acres
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Kindful Acres is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kindful Acres
- Berryland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Berryland is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryland
- Deer Run
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Deer Run is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Run
- Larry Hall
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Larry Hall is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larry Hall
- Lakeview Acres
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lakeview Acres is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Acres
- Arrowhead
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Arrowhead is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead
- Just-A-Mere Landing
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Just-A-Mere Landing is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Just-A-Mere Landing
- Walkers Landing
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Walkers Landing is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkers Landing
- Person County
- The following are listed by their distance from Purley, with the one closest to Purley listed first.
- Concord
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Concord is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Ceffo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Ceffo is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceffo
- Hicks Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Hicks Village is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks Village
- Roseville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Roseville is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
- Whitt Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Whitt Town is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitt Town
- Roxboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Allens Level
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Allens Level is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Level
- Hurdle Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cates
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cates is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cates
- Allensville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Allensville is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allensville
- Timberlake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Tirzah
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Tirzah is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tirzah
- Rockingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Purley, with the one closest to Purley listed first.
- Ruffin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Lawsonville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lawsonville is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
- Draper ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Draper is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draper
- Reidsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Belmont
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Belmont is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Meadow Summit
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Meadow Summit is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Summit
- Norwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Norwood is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- College Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- College Village is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Village
- Eden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Eden is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,867 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eden <1>
- Spray ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Spray is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spray
- Wentworth
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Wentworth is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wentworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,734 people
- Fairview
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Fairview is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Providence
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Providence is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Danville City (VA)
- Danville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Halifax County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Purley, with the one closest to Purley listed first.
- Sutherlin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sutherlin is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherlin
- Delila
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Delila is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delila
- Elmo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Elmo is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmo
- Alton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Harmony
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Harmony is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Jones
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jones is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
- Cluster Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cluster Springs is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cluster Springs
- Mayo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Mayo is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayo
- Sign Rock
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sign Rock is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sign Rock
- Rodden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rodden is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodden
- South Boston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Westside Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Westside Village is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westside Village
- Henry County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Purley, with the one closest to Purley listed first.
- Sandy Level
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Sandy Level is located in Henry County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Level
- Axton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Irisburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Irisburg is located in Henry County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irisburg
- Chatmoss
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Chatmoss is located in Henry County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatmoss
- Laurel Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Laurel Park is located in Henry County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
- Leatherwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Leatherwood is located in Henry County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Ridgeway
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Madison County (VA)
- Beaver Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Beaver Park is located in Madison County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Park
- Pittsylvania County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Purley, with the one closest to Purley listed first.
- Kentuck
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Kentuck is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Ridgecrest
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Ridgecrest is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgecrest
- Mount Cross
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Cross is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cross
- Laurel Grove
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Laurel Grove is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Grove
- Cascade
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Cascade is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
- Spring Garden
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Spring Garden is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Tightsqueeze
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Tightsqueeze is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tightsqueeze
- Chatham
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Chatham is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,413 people
- Henrys Mill
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Henrys Mill is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrys Mill
- Swansonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Swansonville is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swansonville
- Lucks
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Lucks is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucks
- Transco Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Transco Village is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transco Village
- Weal
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Weal is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weal
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Purley, see our County-by-County Page for Purley.
Cemeteries Near Purley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Purley.
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 Purley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Purley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Purley, with the one closest to Purley listed first.
- New Hope UMC Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Gilead Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Danville National Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Freedmens Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Green Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Grove Street Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Schoolfield Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Floral Hill Memorial Garden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Stokesland Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- New Ephesus Baptist Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View Cemetery
- The Mountain View Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mt. View Cemetery
- Continue List (188 more) ...
- Mt. View Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Leemont Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- The Cedars Cemetery
(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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Purley had a population of 27 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Purley, with the one closest to Purley listed first.
- Yanceyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hamer
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hamer is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamer
- Gatewood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gatewood is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatewood
- Blanch
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Blackwell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Blackwell is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwell
- Estelle
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Estelle is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
- Pelham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Pelham is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Allison
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Allison is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allison
- Locust Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Locust Hill is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Milton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ringgold
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Ringgold is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringgold
- Ruffin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Osmond
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Osmond is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osmond
- Semora
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Vandola
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Vandola is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandola
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Purley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Purley.
Newspapers Published in Purley ...
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 65 newspapers that have been published in the area around Purley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Purley, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Purley.
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 Purley:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Caswell County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alamance County
- Durham County
- Guilford County
- Orange County
- Person County
- Rockingham County
- Danville City
- Halifax County
- Henry County
- Madison 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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Purley) 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 Purley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |