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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 Royal (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 Royal. 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.

Royal is located in Franklin 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 Franklin County: Granville, Halifax, Nash, Vance, Wake & Warren.

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

  • Franklin County     (The home county of Royal)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Royal, with the one closest to Royal listed first.
    • Katesville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Katesville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katesville
    • Louisburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bunn
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Bunn is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 401 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bunn <1>
    • Youngsville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Mapleville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Mapleville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleville
    • Franklinton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Sutton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Sutton is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutton
    • Wake Forest
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Ingleside
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Ingleside is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
    • Lake View
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Lake View is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
    • White Level
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • White Level is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Level
    • Alert
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Alert is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alert
    • Centerville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Centerville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
      • Estimated population in 2017: 102 people
  • Chatham County
    • Cary
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Cary is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 173,587 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cary <1>
  • Durham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Royal, with the one closest to Royal listed first.
    • Gorman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Gorman is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
    • Brassfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Brassfield is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
    • Nelson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Nelson is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
    • Morrisville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hampton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Hampton is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
    • Bahama
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Durham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Granville County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Royal, with the one closest to Royal listed first.
    • Wilton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Wilton is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
    • Fairport
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Fairport is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairport
    • Mount Energy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Energy is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Energy
    • Tar River
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Tar River is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tar River
    • Creedmoor
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Clay
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Clay is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
    • Hester
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Hester is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hester
    • Lyons
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Lyons is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
    • Providence
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Providence is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
    • Butner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Oxford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Oxford is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,905 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oxford <1>
    • Stem
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Stem is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stem
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 474 people
    • Berea
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Berea is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berea
  • Halifax County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Royal, with the one closest to Royal listed first.
    • Hollister
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • White Oak
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • White Oak is located in Halifax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
  • Johnston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Royal, with the one closest to Royal listed first.
    • Archer Lodge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Archer Lodge is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archer Lodge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,322 people
      • Archer Lodge has also been known as:
      • Archer
    • Stancils Chapel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Stancils Chapel is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stancils Chapel
    • Clayton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Wilson's Mills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Wilson's Mills is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson's Mills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,847 people
    • Beulahtown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Beulahtown is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulahtown
  • Nash County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Royal, with the one closest to Royal listed first.
    • Rocky Cross
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Rocky Cross is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Cross
    • Hunts
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Hunts is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunts
    • Mays Crossroads
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Mays Crossroads is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mays Crossroads
    • Gold Valley Crossroads
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Edwards Crossroads
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Edwards Crossroads is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards Crossroads
    • Spring Hope
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Murraytown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Murraytown is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murraytown
    • Samaria
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Samaria is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
    • Union Hope
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Union Hope is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hope
    • Bass Crossroads
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Bass Crossroads is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bass Crossroads
    • Lancaster Crossroads
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Frazier Crossroads
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Frazier Crossroads is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Crossroads
    • Castalia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Castalia is located in Nash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castalia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
  • Vance County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Royal, with the one closest to Royal listed first.
    • Bobbitt
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Bobbitt is located in Vance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bobbitt
    • Kittrell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Gill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Gill is located in Vance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gill
    • Bear Pond
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Bear Pond is located in Vance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Pond
    • Gillburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Gillburg is located in Vance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillburg
    • South Henderson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • South Henderson is located in Vance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Henderson
    • Adcock Crossroads
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Adcock Crossroads is located in Vance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adcock Crossroads
    • Henderson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Dabney
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Dabney is located in Vance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dabney
    • Flat Rock
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Flat Rock is located in Vance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
    • Middleburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Drewry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Drewry is located in Vance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drewry
  • Wake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Royal, with the one closest to Royal listed first.
    • Rolesville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Forestville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Forestville is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
    • Wyatt
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Wyatt is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
    • Zebulon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Falls
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Falls is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls
    • New Light
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • New Light is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Light
    • Neuse Crossroads
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Neuse Crossroads is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neuse Crossroads
    • Neuse
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Stony Hill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Stony Hill is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Hill
    • Eagle Rock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Eagle Rock is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Rock
    • Wendell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Knightdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Millbrook
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Millbrook is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millbrook
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Royal, with the one closest to Royal listed first.
    • Lickskillet
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Lickskillet is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
    • Afton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Afton is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Afton
    • Soul City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Soul City is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soul City
    • Manson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Arcola
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Arcola is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcola
    • Warrenton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Snow Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Snow Hill is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
  • Wilson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Royal, with the one closest to Royal listed first.
    • Sims
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Scotts
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Scotts is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts
    • Spring Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Spring Lake is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake

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

Cemeteries Near Royal ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Royal.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Royal, with the one closest to Royal 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.<4>

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

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

  • Katesville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Katesville is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katesville
  • Louisburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Youngsville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Rolesville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Sutton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Sutton is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutton
  • Mapleville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Mapleville is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleville
  • Franklinton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Forestville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Forestville is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
  • Wake Forest
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Justice
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Justice is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Justice
  • Wyatt
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Wyatt is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
  • Ingleside
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Ingleside is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Pocomoke
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Pocomoke is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocomoke
    • Moulton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Moulton is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton
    • Letha ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Letha is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letha

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

Newspapers Published in Royal ...

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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Royal.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Royal, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Royal.

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 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 Royal:

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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Royal) 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 Royal, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.