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 Alston (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 Alston. 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.
Alston is located in Fairfield County.
To see how the shape of South 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 Fairfield County: Chester, Kershaw, Lancaster, Newberry, Richland & Union.
Below are the counties that are near Alston. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Alston:
- Fairfield County (The home county of Alston)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alston, with the one closest to Alston listed first.
- Jenkinsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Rock Hill is located in Fairfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Hill
- Monticello
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Monticello is located in Fairfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
- Rion
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Blair
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Winnsboro Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Winnsboro Mills is located in Fairfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnsboro Mills
- Winnsboro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Adger
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Adger is located in Fairfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adger
- White Oak
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgeway
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Smallwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Smallwood is located in Fairfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smallwood
- Woodward
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Woodward is located in Fairfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodward
- Mitford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mitford is located in Fairfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitford
- Chester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alston, with the one closest to Alston listed first.
- Blackstock
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Cornwell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Cornwell is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwell
- Kershaw County
- Elgin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lancaster County
- Springdale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Laurens County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alston, with the one closest to Alston listed first.
- Kinards
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Joanna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Renno
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Renno is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renno
- Lexington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alston, with the one closest to Alston listed first.
- Chapin
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Irmo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Irmo is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irmo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,734 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irmo <1>
- Ella
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Ella is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ella
- Seven Oaks
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Village is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Village
- Lexington
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Clubhouse Crossroads
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Clubhouse Crossroads is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clubhouse Crossroads
- Red Bank
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Red Bank is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Arthur
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Arthur is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
- Oak Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Gilbert
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Summit
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Summit is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Population from the 2020 Census: 486 people
- Springdale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Springdale is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
- Newberry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alston, with the one closest to Alston listed first.
- Peak
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Little Mountain
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pomaria
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Slighs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Slighs is located in Newberry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slighs
- Sondleys ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sondleys is located in Newberry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sondleys
- Glymphville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Glymphville is located in Newberry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glymphville
- Prosperity
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Union
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Union is located in Newberry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Stoney Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Stoney Hill is located in Newberry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Hill
- Newberry
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Helena
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Helena is located in Newberry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Silverstreet
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Smyrna
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Richland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alston, with the one closest to Alston listed first.
- White Rock
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Lake Murray of Richland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Ballentine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Cedar Creek is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
- Dutch Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dutch Village is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Village
- Saint Andrews
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Andrews is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrews
- Blythewood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Belmont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Brickyard Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Brickyard Village is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickyard Village
- Columbia
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Dentsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Arcadia Lakes
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Arcadia Lakes is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 874 people
- Forest Acres
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Forest Acres is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,269 people
- Saluda County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alston, with the one closest to Alston listed first.
- Hickory Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hickory Grove is located in Saluda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Saluda
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alston, with the one closest to Alston listed first.
- Tuckertown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Tuckertown is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckertown
- Sartor Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sartor Town is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sartor Town
- Delta
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Delta is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
- Carlisle
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Red Town ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Red Town is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Town
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Alston, see our County-by-County Page for Alston.
Cemeteries Near Alston ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alston.
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 Alston - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Alston covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Alston, with the one closest to Alston listed first.
- Peak Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Capers Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capers Chapel Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Capers Chapel Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the north of Chapin.
- Stuck Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- David Bounts Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Thomas Boyd Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Meetzer - Orris Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Owens Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jacob Eargle Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Schmitz Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Friendship Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (331 more) ...
- Whites Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Little River Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Pomaria Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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 Alston had a population of 108 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Alston, with the one closest to Alston listed first.
- Peak
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Jenkinsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wallaceville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wallaceville is located in Fairfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallaceville
- Chapin
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Little Mountain
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pomaria
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- White Rock
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Monticello
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Monticello is located in Fairfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
- Slighs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Slighs is located in Newberry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slighs
- Dawkins
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Dawkins is located in Fairfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawkins
- Walton ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Walton is located in Newberry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walton
- Ballentine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Jennings
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Jennings is located in Fairfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
- Bookman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bookman is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bookman
- Strother
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Strother is located in Fairfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strother
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Alston. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alston.
Newspapers Published in Alston ...
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 39 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alston.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alston, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alston.
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 Alston:
- Websites specific to South Carolina
- Pages specific to Fairfield County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Chester County
- Kershaw County
- Lancaster County
- Laurens County
- Lexington County
- Newberry County
- Richland County
- Saluda County
- Union County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for South 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> | 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- Alston) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Alston, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |