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 Union 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 Union 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 Union 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 Union Ridge: Union Rdg. (or less commonly used: Union Rdge. or Union Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Union Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Union 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.
Union Ridge is located in Alamance 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 Alamance County: Caswell, Chatham, Guilford, Orange, Randolph & Rockingham.
Below are the counties that are near Union Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Union Ridge:
- Alamance County (The home county of Union Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- McCray
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- McCray is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCray
- Lakeview
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Lakeview is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Clover Garden
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Clover Garden is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Garden
- Pleasant Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Glencoe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Glencoe is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glencoe
- Carolina
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Carolina is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina
- Hopedale
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Hopedale is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopedale
- Hunting Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Hunting Hills is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunting Hills
- Lakeview Estates
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Lakeview Estates is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Estates
- Green Acres
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Green Acres is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Birchwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Birchwood is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood
- British Acres
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- British Acres is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for British Acres
- Altamahaw
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Altamahaw is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamahaw
- Caswell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Stony Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Stony Creek is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
- Jericho
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jericho is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- Anderson
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Anderson is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Ashland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ashland is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Locust Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Locust Hill is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Prospect Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Prospect Hill is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Hill
- West Yanceyville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- West Yanceyville is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yanceyville
- Ridgeville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgeville is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Quick
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Quick is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quick
- Yanceyville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Bethel
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Bethel is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Leasburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Providence
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Providence is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Durham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Rougemont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- The American Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- The American Village is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The American Village
- Bahama
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Guilford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Gibsonville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Whitsett
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- McLeansville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sedalia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sedalia is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 689 people
- Browns Summit
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Rudd
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Rudd is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudd
- White Oak
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- White Oak is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
- Cumberland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Forest Oaks
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Forest Oaks is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Oaks
- Spicewood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Spicewood is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spicewood
- Greensboro
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Fairfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Fairfield is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
- Scalesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Scalesville is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalesville
- Orange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Carr
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Carr is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carr
- Lakeview Acres
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lakeview Acres is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Acres
- McDade
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- McDade is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDade
- Miles
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Miles is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles
- Cedar Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Cedar Grove is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Cheeks Crossroads
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cheeks Crossroads is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheeks Crossroads
- Just-A-Mere Landing
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Just-A-Mere Landing is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Just-A-Mere Landing
- Walkers Landing
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Walkers Landing is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkers Landing
- Jordan Oak
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jordan Oak is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan Oak
- Arrowhead
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Arrowhead is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead
- Deer Run
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Deer Run is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Run
- Green Pines
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Green Pines is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Pines
- Efland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Person County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Hurdle Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Allens Level
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Allens Level is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Level
- Roseville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Roseville is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
- Cates
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Cates is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cates
- Concord
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Concord is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Whitt Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Whitt Town is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitt Town
- Timberlake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hicks Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hicks Village is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks Village
- Ceffo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ceffo is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceffo
- Roxboro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Tirzah
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Mount Tirzah is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tirzah
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Liberty
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Redcross
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Redcross is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redcross
- Melanchton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Melanchton is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melanchton
- Staley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Rockingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Lawsonville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lawsonville is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
- Reidsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Belmont
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Belmont is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Ruffin
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Norwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Norwood is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Wentworth
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Wentworth is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wentworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,734 people
- College Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- College Village is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Village
- Wittys Crossroads
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Wittys Crossroads is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittys Crossroads
- Draper ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Draper is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draper
- Meadow Summit
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Meadow Summit is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Summit
- Eden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Eden is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,867 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eden <1>
- Spray ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Spray is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spray
- Fairview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Danville City (VA)
- Danville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Halifax County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Delila
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Delila is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delila
- Sutherlin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Sutherlin is located in Halifax County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherlin
- Henry County (VA)
- Sandy Level
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sandy Level is located in Henry County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Level
- Pittsylvania County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Cascade
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cascade is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
- Mount Cross
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Mount Cross is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cross
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Union Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Union Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Union Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Union 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 Union Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Union Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Rock Fence Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Fence Church Cemetery
- The Rock Fence Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Stoney Creek AME Church Cemetery
- Jeffries Cross Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Enoch Family Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Leath-Kernodle-Hornbuckle Family Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Underwood - Boswell Family Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview UMC Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Northlawn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Shiloh UMC Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- New Hope Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Green Level Christian Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Church of Jesus Christ of LDS Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Continue List (171 more) ...
- Magnolia Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Linwood Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- High Rock MB Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Union Ridge had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- McCray
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- McCray is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCray
- Stony Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Stony Creek is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
- Altamahaw
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Altamahaw is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamahaw
- Burlington
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Cherry Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cherry Grove is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Grove
- Haw River
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Elon College
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Graham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Corbett
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Corbett is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corbett
- Gibsonville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mebane
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ashland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ashland is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Lenox Castle
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lenox Castle is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox Castle
- Locust Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Locust Hill is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Hawfields
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hawfields is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawfields
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Union Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Union Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Union 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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Union Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Union Ridge, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Union Ridge.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Union Ridge:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Alamance County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Caswell County
- Durham County
- Guilford County
- Orange County
- Person County
- Randolph County
- Rockingham County
- Danville City
- Halifax County
- Henry 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> | 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- Union 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 Union Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |