Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Bethany. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Bethany to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Bethany, please Contact Us.
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 Bethany (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 Bethany. 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Bethany is historic, it would have been located within present day McCormick 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 McCormick County: Columbia (GA), Elbert (GA), Lincoln (GA), Abbeville, Edgefield & Greenwood.
Below are the counties that are near Bethany. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bethany:
- McCormick County (The home county of Bethany)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Liberty Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Liberty Hill is located in McCormick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
- Parksville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Plum Branch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Modoc
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- McCormick
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Clarks Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Willington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Willington is located in McCormick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willington
- Mount Carmel
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Abbeville County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Cana ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Cana is located in Abbeville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cana
- Abbeville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Calhoun Falls
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Aiken County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Springdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Springdale is located in Aiken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
- Belvedere
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Belvedere is located in Aiken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvedere
- Eureka
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Eureka is located in Aiken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Vaucluse
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- North Augusta
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Graniteville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bath
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Burnettown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Burnettown is located in Aiken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnettown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,769 people
- Clearwater
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Gloverville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Langley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Warrenville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Edgefield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Colliers
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Colliers is located in Edgefield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colliers
- Edgefield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Lenoir ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Lenoir is located in Edgefield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenoir
- Trenton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Johnston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Murphys Estates
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Murphys Estates is located in Edgefield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphys Estates
- Greenwood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Troy
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bradley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Promised Land
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Promised Land is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Promised Land
- Verdery
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Verdery is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdery
- Mathews Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Mathews Village is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mathews Village
- Fairforest
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Fairforest is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairforest
- Panola Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Panola Village is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola Village
- Springdale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Springdale is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
- Greenwood Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Greenwood Village is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood Village
- Greenwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Ninety Six
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Grendel Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Grendel Village is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grendel Village
- Laurens County
- Anglers Haven
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Anglers Haven is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anglers Haven
- Newberry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Chappells
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Old Town Ferry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Old Town Ferry is located in Newberry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town Ferry
- Saluda County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Ward
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Saluda
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Ridge Spring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hickory Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hickory Grove is located in Saluda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Columbia County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Kiokee
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Kiokee is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiokee
- Snead
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Snead is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snead
- Estimated population in 2019: 20,077 people
- Evans
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Appling
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lamkin
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Lamkin is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamkin
- Lulaville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Lulaville is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lulaville
- Estimated population in 2019: 2,961 people
- Maddox
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Maddox is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maddox
- Martinez
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Memory Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Memory Park is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memory Park
- Population from the 2010 Census: 122 people
- Arrow Head
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Arrow Head is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrow Head
- Grovetown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Forrest ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Forrest is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forrest
- Lincoln County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Lincolnton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Loce
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Loce is located in Lincoln County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loce
- Goshen
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Goshen is located in Lincoln County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Hesters Ferry
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hesters Ferry is located in Lincoln County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hesters Ferry
- Estimated population in 2019: 911 people
- Midway
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Midway is located in Lincoln County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Lisbon ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Lisbon is located in Lincoln County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
- McDuffie County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Hamilton Crossroads
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hamilton Crossroads is located in McDuffie County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton Crossroads
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,117 people
- Columbia Mine ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Columbia Mine is located in McDuffie County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia Mine
- Estimated population in 2019: 195,769 people
- Richmond County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Bonair
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bonair is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonair
- Population from the 2010 Census: 3,135 people
- National Hills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- National Hills is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for National Hills
- Rockbrook
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Rockbrook is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockbrook
- Population from the 2010 Census: 160 people
- Waverly
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Waverly is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
- Belair
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Belair is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belair
- Forest Hills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Augusta
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Barton Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Barton Village is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton Village
- Southgate Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Southgate Village is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southgate Village
- Fleming Heights
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Fleming Heights is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleming Heights
- Estimated population in 2019: 717 people
- Richmond Hills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Richmond Hills is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Hills
- Estimated population in 2019: 13,839 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bethany, see our County-by-County Page for Bethany.
Cemeteries Near Bethany ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bethany.
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 Bethany - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bethany covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Rohoboth Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Old Rohoboth Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Spencer - Cochran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Cochran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Holmes Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty Spring Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Moss Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Parksville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bethany Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Old Bethany Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Canfield Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- New Hope Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (242 more) ...
- Plum Branch Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Griffis Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Prescott Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
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.
While we didn't find Bethany in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bethany.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Plum Branch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Modoc
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- McCormick
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Colliers
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Colliers is located in Edgefield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colliers
- Pleasant Lane
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Lane is located in Edgefield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lane
- Double Branches
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Double Branches is located in Lincoln County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Branches
- Troy
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Eubank ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Eubank is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eubank
- Leverett
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Leverett is located in Lincoln County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leverett
- Bradley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Meeting Street
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Meeting Street is located in Edgefield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meeting Street
- Agnes ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Agnes is located in Lincoln County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnes
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Morgana
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Morgana is located in Edgefield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgana
- Leathersville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Leathersville is located in Lincoln County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leathersville
- Kiokee
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Kiokee is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiokee
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bethany. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bethany.
Newspapers Published in Bethany ...
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 20 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bethany.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bethany, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bethany.
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 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 Bethany:
- Websites specific to South Carolina
- Pages specific to McCormick County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Abbeville County
- Aiken County
- Edgefield County
- Greenwood County
- Laurens County
- Newberry County
- Saluda County
- Columbia County
- Lincoln County
- McDuffie County
- Richmond County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for South Carolina
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Bethany, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Bethany) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |