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 Forsyth 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 Forsyth County: Davidson, Davie, Guilford, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry & Yadkin.
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:
- Forsyth 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.
- Waughtown
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Waughtown is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waughtown
- Rosemont
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Rosemont is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont
- Cityview
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Cityview is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cityview
- East Winston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- East Winston is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Winston
- Winston - Salem
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Ardmore
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ardmore is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardmore
- North Winston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- North Winston is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Winston
- Park Terrace
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Park Terrace is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Terrace
- Bon Air
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Bon Air is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bon Air
- Brookwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Brookwood is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookwood
- Buena Vista
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Buena Vista is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Reynolda Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Reynolda Park is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynolda Park
- Davidson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Gum Tree
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Gum Tree is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Tree
- Wallburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Midway
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Midway is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,951 people
- Bethany ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bethany is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
- Abotts Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Abotts Creek is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abotts Creek
- Arcadia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Arcadia is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Welcome
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Reedy Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Reedy Creek is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedy Creek
- Currytown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Currytown is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Currytown
- Jefferson Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Jefferson Village is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Village
- Thomasville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lexington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Davie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Bermuda Run
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Advance
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pino
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Pino is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pino
- Mocksville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ephesus
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Ephesus is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ephesus
- Clinton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Clinton is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Cooleemee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Calahaln
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Calahaln is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calahaln
- Guilford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Colfax
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Sandy Ridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Sandy Ridge is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
- High Point
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sherwood Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sherwood Village is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood Village
- Jamestown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Allen Jay
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Allen Jay is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen Jay
- Guilford College
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Guilford College is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford College
- Stokesdale
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Freeman Mill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Freeman Mill is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Mill
- Kirkman Crossroad
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Kirkman Crossroad is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman Crossroad
- Pomona
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Pomona is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
- Iredell County
- Houstonville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Houstonville is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houstonville
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Archdale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Trinity
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- New Market
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- New Market is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
- Sophia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Randleman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Worthville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Worthville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
- Rockingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Ellisboro
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Ellisboro is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellisboro
- Gold Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Gold Hill is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Hill
- Wittys Crossroads
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wittys Crossroads is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittys Crossroads
- Madison
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mayodan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rowan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Yadkin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Yadkin is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yadkin
- Trading Ford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Trading Ford is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trading Ford
- Shannon Park
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Shannon Park is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannon Park
- Ellis Crossroads
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ellis Crossroads is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis Crossroads
- East Spencer
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- East Spencer is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Spencer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
- Franklin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Franklin is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Mocksville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mocksville is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mocksville
- Spencer
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Needmore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Needmore is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
- Woodleaf
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Craven
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Craven is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craven
- Belmont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Belmont is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Stokes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Fulp
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Fulp is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulp
- Germanton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Walnut Cove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Neatman
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Neatman is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neatman
- Bailey Town
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bailey Town is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Town
- Mount Olive
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Mount Olive is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Capella
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Capella is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capella
- Quaker Gap
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Quaker Gap is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Gap
- Pine Hall
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Meadows
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Meadows is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
- Pinnacle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Danbury
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Surry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Boyden ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Boyden is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyden
- Shoals
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Shoals is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoals
- Siloam
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Siloam is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Pilot Mountain
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Hill is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
- Rockford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rockford is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockford
- Ararat
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Copeland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Copeland is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copeland
- Flat Shoals ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Flat Shoals is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Shoals
- Stony Knoll
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stony Knoll is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Knoll
- Yadkin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Huntsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Huntsville is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
- Wyo
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Wyo is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyo
- East Bend
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Forbush
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Forbush is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbush
- Courtney
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Courtney is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Courtney
- Union Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Union Grove is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- Yadkinville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Mount Pleasant
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Richmond Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Richmond Hill is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Hill
- Nebo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Nebo is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebo
- Footville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Footville is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Footville
- Boonville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
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.
- Union Ridge UMC Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Bellevue Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- God's Acre
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for God's Acre
- To give a relative sense of its location, the God's Acre is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Winston - Salem.
- The God's Acre has also been known as:
- Salem Moravian Cemetery
- Salem Moravian God's Acre
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2224695 <2>
- Salem Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Salem Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Winston - Salem.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #48680 <2>
- Salem Moravian God's Acre Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Old Vernon Baptist Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Washington Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Parkland Memorial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Happy Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Oaklawn Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Piedmont Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (262 more) ...
- Bethel UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Woodland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Odd Fellows Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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 Union Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Union Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Union Ridge, with the one closest to Union Ridge listed first.
- Salem
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Salem is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Alspaugh
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Alspaugh is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alspaugh
- Midway
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Midway is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,951 people
- Enterprise
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Enterprise is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Bethany ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bethany is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
- Arcadia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Arcadia is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Kernersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Walkertown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sedges Garden ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Sedges Garden is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedges Garden
- Reedy Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Reedy Creek is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedy Creek
- Welcome
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bethania
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bethania is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethania
- Population from the 2020 Census: 367 people
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Pfafftown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Arnold
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Arnold is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Vienna
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Vienna is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna
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 20 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 8 miles [12.9 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 start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Forsyth County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Davidson County
- Davie County
- Guilford County
- Iredell County
- Randolph County
- Rockingham County
- Rowan County
- Stokes County
- Surry County
- Yadkin 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line 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. |