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 Wilsonville (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 Wilsonville. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Wilsonville is located in Chatham 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 Chatham County: Alamance, Harnett, Lee, Moore, Orange, Randolph & Wake.
Below are the counties that are near Wilsonville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wilsonville:
- Chatham County (The home county of Wilsonville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilsonville, with the one closest to Wilsonville listed first.
- Fearrington Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fearrington Village is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fearrington Village
- Haywood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Haywood is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood
- Bynum
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Bynum is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Moncure
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pittsboro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Cary
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Brickhaven
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Brickhaven is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickhaven
- Corinth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Corinth is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Farmville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gulf
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Gulf is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf
- Goldston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bear Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bear Creek is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
- Bonlee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Bonlee is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonlee
- Alamance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilsonville, with the one closest to Wilsonville listed first.
- Mandale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mandale is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandale
- Eli Whitney
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Eli Whitney is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eli Whitney
- Sutphin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sutphin is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutphin
- Saxapahaw
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Snow Camp
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Melville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Melville is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
- Brook Hollow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Brook Hollow is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brook Hollow
- Buena Vista Estates
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Buena Vista Estates is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista Estates
- Hawfields
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hawfields is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawfields
- Mebane
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Swepsonville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Swepsonville is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swepsonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,386 people
- Pleasant Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Cooper Estates
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cooper Estates is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper Estates
- Durham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilsonville, with the one closest to Wilsonville listed first.
- Morrisville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Parkwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Parkwood is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Nelson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Nelson is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
- Brassfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Brassfield is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
- Durham
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- The American Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- The American Village is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The American Village
- Gorman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gorman is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
- Bahama
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Granville County
- Butner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Harnett County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilsonville, with the one closest to Wilsonville listed first.
- Duncan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Duncan is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Cokesbury
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Cokesbury is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokesbury
- Rawls
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rawls is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawls
- Chalybeate Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Chalybeate Springs is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
- Ryes
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Ryes is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryes
- Seminole
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Seminole is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminole
- Kipling
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kipling is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipling
- Angier
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Boone Trail
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Boone Trail is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boone Trail
- Mamers
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Mamers is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mamers
- Luart
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Luart is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luart
- Cape Fear
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Barclaysville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Barclaysville is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclaysville
- Johnston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilsonville, with the one closest to Wilsonville listed first.
- Willow Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Willow Springs is located in Johnston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
- Clayton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilsonville, with the one closest to Wilsonville listed first.
- Osgood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Osgood is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osgood
- Colon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Colon is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colon
- San-Lee Park
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- San-Lee Park is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San-Lee Park
- Cumnock
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Cumnock is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumnock
- Broadway
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Edgewater Estates
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Edgewater Estates is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater Estates
- Glenwood Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Glenwood Village is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Village
- Green Valley Estates
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Sanford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wildwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wildwood is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
- Jonesboro Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jonesboro Heights is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro Heights
- Carolina Trace
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Carolina Trace is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Trace
- Saint Andrews
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Andrews is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrews
- Orange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilsonville, with the one closest to Wilsonville listed first.
- Dogwood Acres
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dogwood Acres is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood Acres
- Chapel Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Davie Circle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Davie Circle is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davie Circle
- Greenwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Greenwood is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Tenney Circle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Tenney Circle is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenney Circle
- Carrboro
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Mount Bolus
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Mount Bolus is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Bolus
- Spring Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Spring Valley is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Ashley Forest
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Ashley Forest is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashley Forest
- Lake Ellen
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Lake Ellen is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ellen
- Summerfield Crossing
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Summerfield Crossing is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield Crossing
- Rangewood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rangewood is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rangewood
- Calvander
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Calvander is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvander
- Wake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilsonville, with the one closest to Wilsonville listed first.
- New Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Apex
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Indian Trail
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Indian Trail is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Trail
- Hollemans Crossroads
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hollemans Crossroads is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollemans Crossroads
- Former names for Hollemans Crossroads:
- Collins
- Enno
- Holly Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dutchess Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Dutchess Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchess Village
- Hazelwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hazelwood is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
- Wilbon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Wilbon is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbon
- Fuquay - Varina
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- McCullers
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- McCullers is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCullers
- Meredith Townes
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Meredith Townes is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith Townes
- Method
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Method is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Method
- Macks Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Macks Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macks Village
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wilsonville, see our County-by-County Page for Wilsonville.
Cemeteries Near Wilsonville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wilsonville.
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 Wilsonville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wilsonville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wilsonville, with the one closest to Wilsonville listed first.
- Ebenezer AME Zion Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Haw River Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Riggsbee Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Manns Chapel Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sparrows Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Starlight Memorial Garden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- McCauley Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hill Crest Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Partin Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Wake Chapel Memorial Gardens
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Greenlawn Memorial Gardens
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Tilley Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (134 more) ...
- Jones Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Stephenson Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Patrick Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Wilsonville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wilsonville.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wilsonville, with the one closest to Wilsonville listed first.
- New Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Merry Oaks
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Merry Oaks is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merry Oaks
- Apex
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Haywood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Haywood is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood
- Bynum
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Bynum is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Moncure
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pittsboro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Holly Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cary
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Corinth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Corinth is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Morrisville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Chapel Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Nelson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Nelson is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
- Asbury
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Asbury is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
- Brassfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Brassfield is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wilsonville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wilsonville.
Newspapers Published in Wilsonville ...
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 Wilsonville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wilsonville, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wilsonville.
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 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 Wilsonville:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Chatham County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alamance County
- Durham County
- Granville County
- Harnett County
- Johnston County
- Lee County
- Orange 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> | 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> | 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 Wilsonville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Wilsonville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |