RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of South Carolina >> Kershaw County >> Baxley >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Baxley (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 Baxley. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 north 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.

Baxley is located in Kershaw 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 Kershaw County: Chesterfield, Darlington, Fairfield, Lancaster, Lee, Richland & Sumter.

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

  • Kershaw County     (The home county of Baxley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Baxley, with the one closest to Baxley listed first.
    • Pine Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Pine Village is located in Kershaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Village
    • Bethune
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Cassatt
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Shepard
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Shepard is located in Kershaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shepard
    • Westville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Kershaw
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Lafayette Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lafayette Village is located in Kershaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lafayette Village
    • Camden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Log Town ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Log Town is located in Kershaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Log Town
    • Lugoff
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Spring Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Spring Village is located in Kershaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Village
    • Liberty Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Chesterfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Baxley, with the one closest to Baxley listed first.
    • McBee
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • McBee is located in Chesterfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 838 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McBee <1>
    • Angelus
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Angelus is located in Chesterfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angelus
    • Jefferson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • White Plains
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • White Plains is located in Chesterfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
    • Patrick
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Pageland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Mount Croghan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Ruby
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Ruby is located in Chesterfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ruby <1>
    • Chesterfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Darlington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Baxley, with the one closest to Baxley listed first.
    • Pine Ridge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Pine Ridge is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
    • Prestwood Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Prestwood Village is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prestwood Village
    • Hartsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • North Hartsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • North Hartsville is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hartsville
    • Lydia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Greenplains ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Greenplains is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenplains
    • Lamar
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Lamar is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamar
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lamar <1>
    • Philadelphia ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Philadelphia is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
    • Dovesville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Dovesville is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovesville
    • Syracuse
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Syracuse is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syracuse
    • Darlington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Alexander Crossroads
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Alexander Crossroads is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Crossroads
  • Florence County
    • Cartersville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Cartersville is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartersville
  • Lancaster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Baxley, with the one closest to Baxley listed first.
    • Oakhurst
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Oakhurst is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakhurst
    • Heath Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Pleasant Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Pleasant Hill is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
    • Primus
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Primus is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primus
    • Union
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Union is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Elgin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Elgin is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
    • Camp Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Camp Creek is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Creek
    • Bell Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Bell Town is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Town
    • Lancaster
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Baxley, with the one closest to Baxley listed first.
    • Bishopville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Alcot
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Alcot is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcot
    • Manville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Manville is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manville
    • Elliott
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Atkins
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Atkins is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
    • Lynchburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Sumter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Baxley, with the one closest to Baxley listed first.
    • Rembert
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Dalzell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Oswego
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Oswego is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswego
    • Horatio
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Union County (NC)
    • Trinity
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Trinity is located in Union County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity

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

Cemeteries Near Baxley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Baxley.

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 Baxley - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Sandy Level Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Scotch Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Brannon Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Cassatt Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Timrod Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Shamrock Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • DuBose Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Bethany Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Turkey Creek Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Union Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (194 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.<3>

While we didn't find Baxley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Baxley.

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

  • Tillers Ferry
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Tillers Ferry is located in Kershaw County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillers Ferry
  • Catarrh
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Catarrh is located in Chesterfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catarrh
  • Clyde
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Clyde is located in Darlington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
  • Dekalb
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Dekalb is located in Kershaw County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dekalb
  • Westville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Antioch
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Antioch is located in Kershaw County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
  • Bishopville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Kershaw
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Jefferson
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Flat Rock
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Flat Rock is located in Kershaw County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
  • Lydia
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Hartsville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Bay Springs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Bay Springs is located in Chesterfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Springs
    • Cantey
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Cantey is located in Kershaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cantey
    • Camden
      (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 Baxley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Baxley.

Newspapers Published in Baxley ...

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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Baxley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Baxley, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Baxley.

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 Baxley:

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 Baxley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Baxley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.