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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 (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. 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 southwest 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 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 is located in Union 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 Union County: Anson, Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, Stanly, Chesterfield (SC) & Lancaster (SC).

Below are the counties that are near Union. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Union:

  • Union County     (The home county of Union)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
    • Wesley Chapel
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • White Oak
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • White Oak is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
    • Mineral Springs
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Waxhaw
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Marvin
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Marvin is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marvin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,920 people
    • Indian Trail
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Carmel Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Carmel Village is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel Village
    • Lake Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Lake Park is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,999 people
    • Jaars
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jaars is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaars
    • Jackson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jackson is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
    • Monroe
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Stallings
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Hemby Bridge
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Hemby Bridge is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemby Bridge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,846 people
  • Anson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
    • Peachland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Mineral Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Mineral Springs is located in Anson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
    • Burnsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Burnsville is located in Anson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnsville
    • Polkton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Polkton is located in Anson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,288 people
  • Cabarrus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
    • Midland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Harrisburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Bosts Mill ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bosts Mill is located in Cabarrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bosts Mill
    • Georgeville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Georgeville is located in Cabarrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgeville
    • Cannon Crossroads
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Cannon Crossroads is located in Cabarrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon Crossroads
      • Cannon Crossroads has also been known as:
      • Cannon Cross Roads
      • Cannon's Crossroads
      • Wallace Cross Roads
      • Wallace Crossroads
    • Concord
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Gaston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
    • Begonia ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Begonia is located in Gaston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Begonia
    • Belmont
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Brown Town
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Brown Town is located in Gaston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown Town
    • Catawba ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Catawba is located in Gaston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catawba
    • Cramerton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • McAdenville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Holly
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Lowell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodland ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Woodland is located in Gaston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
    • Smyre
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Smyre is located in Gaston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smyre
  • Mecklenburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
    • Weddington
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Providence ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Providence is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
    • Matthews
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Pineville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mint Hill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Chantilly
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Chantilly is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chantilly
    • Yorkmont
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Yorkmont is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkmont
    • Allen
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Allen is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
    • Charlotte
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Belmont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Belmont is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
    • Biddleville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Biddleville is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biddleville
    • Dalton Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Dalton Village is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton Village
    • Wilmore
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Wilmore is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmore
  • Stanly County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
    • Stanfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Locust
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Oakboro
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Red Cross
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Red Cross is located in Stanly County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Cross
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 769 people
    • Lambert
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Lambert is located in Stanly County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
  • Chester County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
    • Edgemoor
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Fort Lawn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lando
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Richburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Smith
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Smith is located in Chester County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith
    • Great Falls
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Chesterfield County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
    • Pageland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Pageland is located in Chesterfield County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pageland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,535 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pageland <1>
    • White Plains
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • White Plains is located in Chesterfield County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
    • Jefferson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jefferson is located in Chesterfield County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 704 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jefferson <1>
  • Kershaw County (SC)
    • Kershaw
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Kershaw is located in Kershaw County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kershaw
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,404 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kershaw <1>
  • Lancaster County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
    • Colonial Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Colonial Village is located in Lancaster County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • Indian Land
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Van Wyck
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Camp Cox
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Camp Cox is located in Lancaster County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Cox
    • Springdell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Springdell is located in Lancaster County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdell
    • Camp Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Camp Creek is located in Lancaster County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Creek
    • Riverside
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Riverside is located in Lancaster County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
    • Caskey
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Caskey is located in Lancaster County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caskey
    • Lancaster
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Lancaster is located in Lancaster County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,156 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lancaster <1>
    • Lancaster Mill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Lancaster Mill is located in Lancaster County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster Mill
    • Union
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Union is located in Lancaster County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Irwin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Irwin is located in Lancaster County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
    • Elgin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Elgin is located in Lancaster County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
  • York County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
    • Fort Mill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Catawba
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Lesslie
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Lesslie is located in York County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lesslie
    • Roddey
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Roddey is located in York County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roddey
      • Roddey has also been known as:
      • Coates Tavern
    • Riverview
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Riverview is located in York County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
    • India Hook
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • India Hook is located in York County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for India Hook
    • Rock Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Tega Cay
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Lake Wylie
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Newport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Newport is located in York County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
    • Bowling Green
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Clover
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Clover is located in York County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,800 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clover <1>
    • McConnells
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Union, see our County-by-County Page for Union.

Cemeteries Near Union ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Union.

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 - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Union covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.

  • Eastside Community Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Wesley Chapel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Waxhaw Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waxhaw Baptist Church Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Waxhaw Baptist Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the southeast of Waxhaw.
    • The Waxhaw Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Roundtop Baptist Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2159148 <2>
  • Walker Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Secrest Family Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Six Mile Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • McWorter Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • New Salem Baptist Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Shiloh Baptist Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Independent Bible Baptist Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Silver Run Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Pleasant Valley Baptist Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (156 more) ...

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 in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Union.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.

  • Wolfville ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Wolfville is located in Union County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfville
  • Waxhaw
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Stouts
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Stouts is located in Union County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stouts
  • Belair
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Belair is located in Lancaster County (SC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belair
  • Indian Trail
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Pleasant Valley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Valley is located in Lancaster County (SC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
  • Harrison ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Harrison is located in Mecklenburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
  • Walkersville ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Walkersville is located in Union County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkersville
  • Monroe
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Matthews
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Barberville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Barberville is located in Lancaster County (SC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barberville
  • Van Wyck
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Sardis
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Sardis is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis
    • Hoods ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Hoods is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoods
    • Pineville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Union. See our List of 1890's Communities around Union.

Newspapers Published in Union ...

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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Union.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Union, 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 Union.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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:

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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Union) 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, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.