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 Sunset Beach (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 Sunset Beach. 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.
Name Variations for Sunset Beach ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Sunset Beach: Sunset Bch.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sunset Beach. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sunset Beach.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 hospitals 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.
Sunset Beach is located in Brunswick 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 Brunswick County: Columbus, New Hanover, Pender & Horry (SC).
Below are the counties that are near Sunset Beach. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sunset Beach:
- Brunswick County (The home county of Sunset Beach)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Beach, with the one closest to Sunset Beach listed first.
- Calabash
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Carolina Shores
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Carolina Shores is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Shores
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,802 people
- Ocean Isle Beach
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Longwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Longwood is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Shallotte
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Holden Beach
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Ash
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Ash is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash
- Sivey Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sivey Town is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sivey Town
- Exum
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Exum is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exum
- Varnamtown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Varnamtown is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varnamtown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
- Supply
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Makatoka
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Makatoka is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Makatoka
- Columbus County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Beach, with the one closest to Sunset Beach listed first.
- Pireway
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pireway is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pireway
- Bug Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bug Hill is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bug Hill
- Pine Level
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Level is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
- Bethel
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bethel is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Nakina
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Nakina is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nakina
- Ironhill
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Ironhill is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironhill
- Cribb Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cribb Town is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cribb Town
- Tabor City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Emerson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Emerson is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson
- Brunswick
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Lake Waccamaw
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Clarendon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clarendon is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarendon
- Horry County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Beach, with the one closest to Sunset Beach listed first.
- Little River
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cedar Creek Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Cedar Creek Village is located in Horry County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek Village
- Cherry Grove Beach
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- North Myrtle Beach
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Atlantic Beach
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Atlantic Beach is located in Horry County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic Beach
- Population from the 2020 Census: 483 people
- Little Town
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Little Town is located in Horry County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
- Longs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Briarcliffe Acres
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Briarcliffe Acres is located in Horry County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarcliffe Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 612 people
- Arcadian Shores
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hand
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Hand is located in Horry County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hand
- Daisy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Daisy is located in Horry County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
- Nixonville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Nixonville is located in Horry County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixonville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sunset Beach, see our County-by-County Page for Sunset Beach.
Cemeteries Near Sunset Beach ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sunset Beach.
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 Sunset Beach - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sunset Beach covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sunset Beach, with the one closest to Sunset Beach listed first.
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Wilson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Bennett-Beck Family Cemetery
- Parker Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Mintz Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Manley Bennett Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Brunswick Memorial Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lewis Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- St. Paul AME Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Davis Register Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Register Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bennett Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (128 more) ...
- Blanton Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Live Oak Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mt. Calvery Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
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 Sunset Beach in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sunset Beach.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sunset Beach, with the one closest to Sunset Beach listed first.
- Calabash
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Iredell
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Iredell is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iredell
- Little River
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Shallotte
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pireway
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pireway is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pireway
- Ash
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Ash is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash
- Wampee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Wampee is located in Horry County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wampee
- Bug Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bug Hill is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bug Hill
- Exum
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Exum is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exum
- Supply
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Vaught
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Vaught is located in Horry County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaught
- Makatoka
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Makatoka is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Makatoka
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Dothan
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dothan is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dothan
- Hand
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Hand is located in Horry County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hand
- Hammond
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Hammond is located in Horry County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sunset Beach. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sunset Beach.
Newspapers Published in Sunset Beach ...
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 2 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sunset Beach.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sunset Beach, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sunset Beach.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Sunset Beach:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Brunswick County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Columbus County
- Horry 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> | 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> | 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- Sunset Beach) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Sunset Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |