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 Ridge (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 Ridge. 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 Ridge ...
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 Ridge: Sunset Rdg. (or less commonly used: Sunset Rdge. or Sunset Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sunset Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sunset Ridge.
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 northwest 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 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 west 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 Ridge is located in Orange 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 Orange County: Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Durham & Person.
Below are the counties that are near Sunset Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sunset Ridge:
- Orange County (The home county of Sunset Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Ridge, with the one closest to Sunset Ridge listed first.
- Lakeview Acres
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Lakeview Acres is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Acres
- Miles
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Miles is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles
- Cheeks Crossroads
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Cheeks Crossroads is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheeks Crossroads
- Jordan Oak
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jordan Oak is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan Oak
- Stagecoach Forest
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Stagecoach Forest is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach Forest
- Efland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Cedar Grove is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Walkers Landing
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Walkers Landing is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkers Landing
- Rosewood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Rosewood is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewood
- Just-A-Mere Landing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Just-A-Mere Landing is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Just-A-Mere Landing
- McDade
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- McDade is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDade
- Arrowhead
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Arrowhead is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead
- Alamance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Ridge, with the one closest to Sunset Ridge listed first.
- Mebane
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Stagecoach Trail
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Stagecoach Trail is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach Trail
- Buena Vista Estates
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Buena Vista Estates is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista Estates
- Brook Hollow
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Brook Hollow is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brook Hollow
- Woodlawn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Woodlawn is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
- Florence Town
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Florence Town is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence Town
- Hawfields
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hawfields is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawfields
- Green Level
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Green Level is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Level
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,341 people
- Just Crossroads
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Just Crossroads is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Just Crossroads
- Haw River
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Melville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Melville is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
- Granite Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Granite Village is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite Village
- Caswell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Ridge, with the one closest to Sunset Ridge listed first.
- Prospect Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Prospect Hill is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Hill
- Anderson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Ridgeville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Ridgeville is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Jericho
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jericho is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- Stony Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stony Creek is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
- Leasburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Locust Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Locust Hill is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Yanceyville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Ashland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ashland is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- West Yanceyville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- West Yanceyville is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yanceyville
- Quick
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Quick is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quick
- Bethel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bethel is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Chatham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Ridge, with the one closest to Sunset Ridge listed first.
- Fearrington Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Fearrington Village is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fearrington Village
- Bynum
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bynum is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Pittsboro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Siler City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Durham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Ridge, with the one closest to Sunset Ridge listed first.
- The American Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- The American Village is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The American Village
- Rougemont
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bahama
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Durham
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Gorman
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Gorman is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
- Hampton
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Hampton is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- Parkwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Parkwood is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Brassfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Brassfield is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
- Nelson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Nelson is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
- Morrisville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Granville County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Ridge, with the one closest to Sunset Ridge listed first.
- Butner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Lyons
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Lyons is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
- Stem
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Stem is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 474 people
- Creedmoor
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Guilford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Ridge, with the one closest to Sunset Ridge listed first.
- Gibsonville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Whitsett
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Sedalia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Sedalia is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 689 people
- McLeansville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Julian
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Browns Summit
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Forest Oaks
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Forest Oaks is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Oaks
- Rudd
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Rudd is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudd
- Climax
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Cumberland is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- White Oak
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- White Oak is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
- Greensboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Person County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Ridge, with the one closest to Sunset Ridge listed first.
- Hurdle Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Allens Level
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Allens Level is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Level
- Cates
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Cates is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cates
- Roseville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Roseville is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
- Timberlake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Tirzah
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Tirzah is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tirzah
- Whitt Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Whitt Town is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitt Town
- Hicks Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Hicks Village is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks Village
- Roxboro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Concord
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Concord is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Moriah
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Moriah is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moriah
- Ceffo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ceffo is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceffo
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Ridge, with the one closest to Sunset Ridge listed first.
- Liberty
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Staley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Melanchton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Melanchton is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melanchton
- Redcross
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Redcross is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redcross
- Rockingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunset Ridge, with the one closest to Sunset Ridge listed first.
- Lawsonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lawsonville is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
- Reidsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ruffin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Belmont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Belmont is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sunset Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Sunset Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Sunset Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sunset Ridge.
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 Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sunset Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sunset Ridge, with the one closest to Sunset Ridge listed first.
- Oakwood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- County Home Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Harmony Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Green Level Christian Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Rosewood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Old Eno Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Maplewood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mars Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Temple of Light Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple of Light Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Temple of Light Church Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<3> to the north of Hillsborough.
- The Temple of Light Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mt. Zion AME Church Cemetery
- Mt. Zion Memorial Gardens
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2254144 <2>
- Linwood Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Graham Memorial Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cross Roads Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (138 more) ...
- Governor Burke Grave
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jeffries Cross Memorial Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Enoch Family Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
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 Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sunset Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sunset Ridge, with the one closest to Sunset Ridge listed first.
- Mebane
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Hawfields
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hawfields is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawfields
- Efland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Cedar Grove is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Haw River
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Swepsonville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Swepsonville is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swepsonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,386 people
- Hillsborough
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Graham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Corbett
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Corbett is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corbett
- McCray
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- McCray is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCray
- Oaks
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Oaks is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaks
- Teer
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Teer is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teer
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Prospect Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Prospect Hill is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Hill
- Saxapahaw
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Laws
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Laws is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laws
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sunset Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sunset Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Sunset Ridge ...
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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sunset Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sunset Ridge, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sunset Ridge.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Sunset Ridge:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Orange County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alamance County
- Caswell County
- Chatham County
- Durham County
- Granville County
- Guilford County
- Person County
- Randolph County
- Rockingham 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sunset Ridge) 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 Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |