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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 Gaston (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 Gaston. 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.

Gaston is located in Lexington County.

To see how the shape of South Carolina's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Lexington County: Aiken, Calhoun, Newberry, Orangeburg, Richland & Saluda.

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

  • Lexington County     (The home county of Gaston)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gaston, with the one closest to Gaston listed first.
    • Glenn Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glenn Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Village
      • Glenn Village is located in Lexington County
    • Swansea
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Pineridge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineridge
      • Pineridge is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,419 people
    • South Congaree
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Congaree have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Congaree
      • South Congaree is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,485 people
    • Springdale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
      • Springdale is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
    • Pelion
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Cayce
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayce
      • Cayce is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,994 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cayce <2>
    • Oak Grove
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
      • Oak Grove is located in Lexington County
    • Red Bank
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Bank have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
      • Red Bank is located in Lexington County
    • West Columbia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Lexington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Seven Oaks
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Aiken County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gaston, with the one closest to Gaston listed first.
    • Perry
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Wagener
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Seivern
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seivern
      • Seivern is located in Aiken County
    • Salley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Camp Rawls
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Rawls
      • Camp Rawls is located in Aiken County
    • Kitchings Mill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kitchings Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kitchings Mill
      • Kitchings Mill is located in Aiken County
      • Kitchings Mill has also been known as:
      • Kinchens Mill
    • Monetta
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Barnwell County
    • Whaley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whaley
      • Whaley is located in Barnwell County
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gaston, with the one closest to Gaston listed first.
    • Saint Matthews
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cameron
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cameron have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
      • Cameron is located in Calhoun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
    • Creston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creston
      • Creston is located in Calhoun County
  • Kershaw County
    • Elgin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
      • Elgin is located in Kershaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,585 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elgin <2>
  • Lancaster County
  • Orangeburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gaston, with the one closest to Gaston listed first.
    • Woodford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
      • Woodford is located in Orangeburg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
    • North
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North
      • North is located in Orangeburg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 699 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North <2>
    • Livingston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Livingston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
      • Livingston is located in Orangeburg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 124 people
    • Neeses
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Jamison
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamison
      • Jamison is located in Orangeburg County
    • Bolen Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bolen Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolen Town
      • Bolen Town is located in Orangeburg County
    • Stilton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stilton
      • Stilton is located in Orangeburg County
    • Springfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Norway
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Brookdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookdale
      • Brookdale is located in Orangeburg County
    • Edisto
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edisto have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edisto
      • Edisto is located in Orangeburg County
    • Orangeburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Richland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gaston, with the one closest to Gaston listed first.
    • Arthurtown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthurtown
      • Arthurtown is located in Richland County
    • Hollywood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
      • Hollywood is located in Richland County
    • Valencia Heights
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valencia Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valencia Heights
      • Valencia Heights is located in Richland County
    • Columbia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Pinewood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood
      • Pinewood is located in Richland County
    • Capitol View
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitol View
      • Capitol View is located in Richland County
    • Hopkins
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Andrews
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Andrews have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrews
      • Saint Andrews is located in Richland County
    • Forest Acres
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Acres
      • Forest Acres is located in Richland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,269 people
    • Brickyard Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brickyard Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickyard Village
      • Brickyard Village is located in Richland County
    • Bruner
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
      • Bruner is located in Richland County
    • Ravenwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenwood
      • Ravenwood is located in Richland County

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

Newspapers Published in Gaston ...

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 182 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gaston.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gaston, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gaston.

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 helpful 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 Gaston:

Cemeteries Near Gaston ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gaston.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Reichter - Richter Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reichter - Richter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reichter - Richter Cemetery
  • Larkin Glen Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Larkin Glen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Larkin Glen Cemetery
  • Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Bachman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bachman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bachman Cemetery
  • Neese Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Neese Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Neese Cemetery
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Pauls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Pauls Cemetery
  • Baughman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Baughman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Baughman Cemetery
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
  • Kaigler Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kaigler Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kaigler Cemetery
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Pauls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Pauls Cemetery
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
  • Sightler Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sightler Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sightler Cemetery
  • Continue List   (292 more) ...
    • Jeffcoat - Chaney Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jeffcoat - Chaney Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jeffcoat - Chaney Cemetery
    • Reese Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reese Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reese Cemetery
    • Pisgah Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pisgah Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pisgah Cemetery

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Gaston had railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Gaston had a population of 1,712 people.

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

  • Swansea
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Pineridge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineridge
    • Pineridge is located in Lexington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,419 people
  • Arthur
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arthur have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
    • Arthur is located in Lexington County
  • Woodford
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
    • Woodford is located in Orangeburg County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
  • Cayce
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayce
    • Cayce is located in Lexington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,994 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cayce <2>
  • Spring Hill
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
    • Spring Hill is located in Lexington County
  • Childs
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Childs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childs
    • Childs is located in Richland County
  • North
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North
    • North is located in Orangeburg County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 699 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North <2>
  • Columbia
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Hopkins
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Leaphart
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leaphart have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaphart
    • Leaphart is located in Lexington County
  • Weston
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
    • Weston is located in Richland County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Perry
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Sawyerdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sawyerdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyerdale
      • Sawyerdale is located in Orangeburg County
    • Wagener
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Gaston. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Lexington County: www.lex-co.com/

The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 from Point A (ie- Gaston) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gaston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.8173, Longitude: -81.1010    
<4>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.
<5>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 Gaston, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024