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 Somerset (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 Somerset. 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 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.
Somerset is located in Person 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 Person County: Caswell, Durham, Granville, Orange & Halifax (VA).
Below are the counties that are near Somerset. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Somerset:
- Person County (The home county of Somerset)
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Roxboro
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Whitt Town
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Whitt Town is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitt Town
- Allens Level
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Allens Level is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Level
- Roseville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Roseville is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
- Hicks Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hicks Village is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks Village
- Cates
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Cates is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cates
- Timberlake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Allensville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Allensville is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allensville
- Mount Tirzah
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Tirzah is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tirzah
- Hurdle Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Concord
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Concord is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Ceffo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ceffo is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceffo
- Alamance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Just Crossroads
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Just Crossroads is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Just Crossroads
- Pleasant Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Mebane
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Stagecoach Trail
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Stagecoach Trail is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach Trail
- Woodlawn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Woodlawn is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
- Brook Hollow
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Brook Hollow is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brook Hollow
- Buena Vista Estates
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Buena Vista Estates is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista Estates
- McCray
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- McCray is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCray
- Union Ridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Union Ridge is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Ridge
- Florence Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Florence Town is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence Town
- Green Level
(26 miles [41.8 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
- Haw River
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Caswell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Leasburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Ridgeville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Ridgeville is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Semora
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Prospect Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Prospect Hill is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Hill
- Estelle
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Estelle is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
- Milton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Blanch
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Yanceyville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Anderson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Anderson is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Jericho
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Jericho is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- West Yanceyville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- West Yanceyville is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yanceyville
- Providence
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Providence is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Durham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Rougemont
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Hampton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hampton is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- Bahama
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- The American Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- The American Village is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The American Village
- Gorman
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Gorman is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
- Durham
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Brassfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Brassfield is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
- Granville County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Berea
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Berea is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berea
- Wilbourns
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wilbourns is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbourns
- Stem
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Stem is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 474 people
- Providence
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Providence is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Butner
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lyons
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lyons is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
- Gela
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Gela is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gela
- Oxford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Hester
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hester is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hester
- Creedmoor
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tar River
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tar River is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tar River
- Clay
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Clay is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
- Orange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Berryland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Berryland is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryland
- Caldwell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Caldwell is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caldwell
- Fieldstream
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Fieldstream is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fieldstream
- Laws
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Laws is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laws
- Charter Meadows
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Charter Meadows is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Meadows
- North Fork
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- North Fork is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Fork
- Springcrest Meadows
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Springcrest Meadows is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springcrest Meadows
- Kindful Acres
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kindful Acres is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kindful Acres
- Larry Hall
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Larry Hall is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larry Hall
- Schley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Schley is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schley
- Green Pines
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Green Pines is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Pines
- Arrowhead
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Arrowhead is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead
- Vance County
- Dabney
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Dabney is located in Vance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dabney
- Danville City (VA)
- Danville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fluvanna County (VA)
- Scottsburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Halifax County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Harmony
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Harmony is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Alton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Mayo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Mayo is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayo
- Virgilina
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cluster Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Cluster Springs is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cluster Springs
- Delila
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Delila is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delila
- Sutherlin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sutherlin is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherlin
- Elmo
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Elmo is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmo
- Omega
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Omega is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omega
- South Boston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Aarons Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Aarons Creek is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aarons Creek
- Jones
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Jones is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
- Madison County (VA)
- Beaver Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Beaver Park is located in Madison County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Park
- Mecklenburg County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Nelson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Nelson is located in Mecklenburg County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
- Averett
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Averett is located in Mecklenburg County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averett
- Henrico
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Henrico is located in Mecklenburg County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrico
- Shiny Rock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Shiny Rock is located in Mecklenburg County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiny Rock
- Clarksville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mill Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mill Village is located in Mecklenburg County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
- Pittsylvania County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Laurel Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Laurel Grove is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Grove
- Kentuck
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Kentuck is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Somerset, see our County-by-County Page for Somerset.
Cemeteries Near Somerset ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Somerset.
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 Somerset - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Somerset covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Person Memorial Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Flat River Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Brookland Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Burchwood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- David Reid Clayton Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Moses Winstead Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Zion United Methodist Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Surl Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Rock Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Providence Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Stories Creek Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Allensville Methodist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (181 more) ...
- Lamberth Memorial Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Tirzah United Methodist Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Harmony Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
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>
While we didn't find Somerset in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Somerset.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Somerset, with the one closest to Somerset listed first.
- Ai
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ai is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ai
- Roxboro
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Roseville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Roseville is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
- Timberlake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Surl
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Surl is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surl
- Allensville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Allensville is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allensville
- Bushy Fork
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bushy Fork is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushy Fork
- Hurdle Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Tirzah
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Tirzah is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tirzah
- Olive Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Olive Hill is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olive Hill
- Ceffo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ceffo is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceffo
- Gordonton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gordonton is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonton
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Rougemont
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Red Mountain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Red Mountain is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mountain
- Woodsdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Woodsdale is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodsdale
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Somerset. See our List of 1890's Communities around Somerset.
Newspapers Published in Somerset ...
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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Somerset.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Somerset, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Somerset.
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 Somerset:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Person County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alamance County
- Caswell County
- Durham County
- Granville County
- Orange County
- Vance County
- Danville City
- Fluvanna County
- Halifax County
- Madison County
- Mecklenburg 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- Somerset) 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 Somerset, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |