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 Sunshine Acres (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 Sunshine Acres. 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 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.
Sunshine Acres 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 Sunshine Acres. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sunshine Acres:
- Orange County (The home county of Sunshine Acres)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine Acres, with the one closest to Sunshine Acres listed first.
- Oakdale Farms
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Oakdale Farms is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale Farms
- Dimmocks Mill
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Dimmocks Mill is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dimmocks Mill
- West Hillsborough
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- West Hillsborough is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hillsborough
- Garland Acres
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Garland Acres is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland Acres
- Fairview
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Fairview is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Hillsborough
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Rosewood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Rosewood is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewood
- Piney Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Piney Grove is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Grove
- Oak Ridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Ridge is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge
- Efland
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Stagecoach Forest
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Stagecoach Forest is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach Forest
- New Hope
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- New Hope is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Alamance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine Acres, with the one closest to Sunshine Acres listed first.
- Stagecoach Trail
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stagecoach Trail is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach Trail
- Brook Hollow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Brook Hollow is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brook Hollow
- Buena Vista Estates
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Buena Vista Estates is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista Estates
- Mebane
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Hawfields
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Hawfields is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawfields
- Woodlawn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Woodlawn is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
- Florence Town
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Florence Town is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence Town
- Melville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Melville is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
- Just Crossroads
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Just Crossroads is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Just Crossroads
- Saxapahaw
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Green Level
(13 miles [20.9 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
- Swepsonville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Swepsonville is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swepsonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,386 people
- Caswell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine Acres, with the one closest to Sunshine Acres listed first.
- Prospect Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Prospect Hill is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Hill
- Ridgeville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Ridgeville is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Anderson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Jericho
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jericho is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- Stony Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Stony Creek is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
- Leasburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Yanceyville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Locust Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Locust Hill is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- West Yanceyville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- West Yanceyville is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yanceyville
- Ashland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ashland is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Chatham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine Acres, with the one closest to Sunshine Acres listed first.
- Fearrington Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Fearrington Village is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fearrington Village
- Bynum
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Bynum is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Pittsboro
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Cary
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Haywood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Haywood is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood
- Moncure
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Siler City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Durham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine Acres, with the one closest to Sunshine Acres listed first.
- The American Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- The American Village is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The American Village
- Durham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Bahama
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rougemont
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Parkwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Parkwood is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Gorman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Gorman is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
- Brassfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Brassfield is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
- Nelson
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Nelson is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
- Hampton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hampton is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- Morrisville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Granville County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine Acres, with the one closest to Sunshine Acres listed first.
- Butner
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Lyons
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Lyons is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
- Creedmoor
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Stem
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Stem is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 474 people
- Hester
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hester is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hester
- Mount Energy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Mount Energy is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Energy
- Berea
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Berea is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berea
- Providence
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Providence is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Tar River
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Tar River is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tar River
- Wilton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Wilton is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Guilford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine Acres, with the one closest to Sunshine Acres listed first.
- Gibsonville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Whitsett
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Sedalia
(28 miles [45.1 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
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Person County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine Acres, with the one closest to Sunshine Acres listed first.
- Hurdle Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Cates
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Cates is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cates
- Timberlake
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Allens Level
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Allens Level is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Level
- Mount Tirzah
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Tirzah is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tirzah
- Roseville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Roseville is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
- Moriah
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Moriah is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moriah
- Whitt Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Whitt Town is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitt Town
- Roxboro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Hicks Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Hicks Village is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks Village
- Allensville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Allensville is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allensville
- Concord
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Concord is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine Acres, with the one closest to Sunshine Acres listed first.
- Liberty
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Staley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine Acres, with the one closest to Sunshine Acres listed first.
- Hazelwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Hazelwood is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
- Dutchess Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dutchess Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchess Village
- Pickwick Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pickwick Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickwick Village
- Apex
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Trail
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Trail is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Trail
- New Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Meredith Townes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Meredith Townes is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith Townes
- New Light
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- New Light is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Light
- Stony Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Stony Hill is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Hill
- Woodbury Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Woodbury Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbury Village
- Glenwood Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Glenwood Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Village
- Method
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Method is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Method
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sunshine Acres, see our County-by-County Page for Sunshine Acres.
Cemeteries Near Sunshine Acres ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sunshine Acres.
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 Sunshine Acres - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sunshine Acres covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sunshine Acres, with the one closest to Sunshine Acres listed first.
- Cross Roads Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Rosewood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Mars Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Maplewood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Governor Burke Grave
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Restland Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- County Home Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Old Eno Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Partin Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Chapel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Temple of Light Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- 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]<2> 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 <3>
- Cheek Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Continue List (105 more) ...
- Tilley Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Dunagan Family Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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 Sunshine Acres in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sunshine Acres.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sunshine Acres, with the one closest to Sunshine Acres listed first.
- Hillsborough
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Efland
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Blackwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Blackwood is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwood
- Teer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Teer is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teer
- Cedar Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Cedar Grove is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Chapel Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Mebane
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Oaks
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Oaks is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaks
- Hawfields
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Hawfields is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawfields
- Durham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Saxapahaw
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Laws
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Laws is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laws
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Swepsonville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Swepsonville is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swepsonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,386 people
- Prospect Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Prospect Hill is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Hill
- Haw River
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sunshine Acres. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sunshine Acres.
Newspapers Published in Sunshine Acres ...
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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sunshine Acres.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sunshine Acres, 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 Sunshine Acres.
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 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 Sunshine Acres:
- 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
- Wake 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 '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- Sunshine Acres) 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 Sunshine Acres, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |