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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 Bears Bluff (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 Bears Bluff. 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.

Name Variations for Bears Bluff ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

  • A typical abbreviation for Bears Bluff: Bears Blf. (or less commonly used: Bears Bluf.)
  • While the name of this community is Bears Bluff, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Bears Bluff may originally have been Bear's Bluff.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Bears Bluff might be written as Bear Bluff.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 doctors 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.

Bears Bluff is located in Charleston 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 Charleston County: Berkeley, Colleton, Dorchester & Georgetown.

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

  • Charleston County     (The home county of Bears Bluff)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bears Bluff, with the one closest to Bears Bluff listed first.
    • Rockville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Rockville is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 138 people
    • Wadmalaw Island
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Meggett
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Edisto Island
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Hollywood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Adams Run
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Seabrook Island
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Kiawah Island
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Ravenel
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Johns Island
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Canady Landing ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Canady Landing is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canady Landing
    • Essex Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Essex Village is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essex Village
  • Beaufort County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bears Bluff, with the one closest to Bears Bluff listed first.
    • Frogmore
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Frogmore is located in Beaufort County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frogmore
    • Fripp Island
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Dale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Beaufort
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Sangster Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Sangster Village is located in Beaufort County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sangster Village
    • Polk Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Polk Village is located in Beaufort County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk Village
    • Lobeco
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Burton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Berkeley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bears Bluff, with the one closest to Bears Bluff listed first.
    • Ladson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Hanahan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Caromi Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Caromi Village is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caromi Village
    • Camelot Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Camelot Village is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelot Village
    • Goose Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Highland Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Highland Village is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
    • Mount Holly
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Holly is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Holly
  • Colleton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bears Bluff, with the one closest to Bears Bluff listed first.
    • Edisto Beach
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Edisto Beach is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edisto Beach
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 402 people
    • Jacksonboro
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Green Pond
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Cottageville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Ritter
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Ritter is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritter
    • Drawdy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Drawdy is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drawdy
    • White Hall
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • White Hall is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
    • Round O
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Drigger Crossroads
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Drigger Crossroads is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drigger Crossroads
    • Walterboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Sidney
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Sidney is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
  • Dorchester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bears Bluff, with the one closest to Bears Bluff listed first.
    • Chandler Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Chandler Village is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Village
    • Flowertown Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Flowertown Village is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowertown Village
    • Brownsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Brownsville is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
    • Summerville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Bears Bluff ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bears Bluff.

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 Bears Bluff - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Trinity Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Parker Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Gun Bluff Plantation Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Prices Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Chaplin Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Adams Run Baptist Church Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Bethlehem Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Tomb of Colonel William Washington
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Hughes Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • White Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Community Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Hopewell Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (102 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 Bears Bluff in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bears Bluff.

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

  • Jacksonboro
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • James Island
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • James Island is located in Charleston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James Island
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,226 people
  • Ashepoo
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Ashepoo is located in Colleton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashepoo
  • Charleston
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Green Pond
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
  • Belvedere
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Belvedere is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvedere
  • Cottageville
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Ladson
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Ritter
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Ritter is located in Colleton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritter
  • Frogmore
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Frogmore is located in Beaufort County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frogmore
  • Otranto
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Otranto is located in Charleston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otranto
  • Drawdy
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Drawdy is located in Colleton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drawdy
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • White Hall
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • White Hall is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
    • Dale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Summerville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Bears Bluff ...

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 3 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bears Bluff.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bears Bluff, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bears Bluff.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Bears Bluff:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Bears Bluff, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Bears Bluff) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.