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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 Bleases Crossroads (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 Bleases Crossroads. 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 Bleases Crossroads ...

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 Bleases Crossroads: Bleases Xrds.
  • While the name of this community is Bleases Crossroads, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Bleases Crossroads may originally have been Blease's Crossroads.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Bleases Crossroads might be written as Blease Crossroads.

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.

Bleases Crossroads is located in Saluda 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 Saluda County: Aiken, Edgefield, Greenwood, Lexington & Newberry.

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

  • Saluda County     (The home county of Bleases Crossroads)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bleases Crossroads, with the one closest to Bleases Crossroads listed first.
    • Hickory Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Hickory Grove is located in Saluda County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
    • Saluda
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Ward
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Ridge Spring
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Abbeville County
    • Cana ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Cana is located in Abbeville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cana
  • Aiken County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bleases Crossroads, with the one closest to Bleases Crossroads listed first.
    • Monetta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Eureka
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Eureka is located in Aiken County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
    • Vaucluse
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Edgefield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bleases Crossroads, with the one closest to Bleases Crossroads listed first.
    • Johnston
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Edgefield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Trenton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Colliers
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Colliers is located in Edgefield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colliers
  • Greenwood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bleases Crossroads, with the one closest to Bleases Crossroads listed first.
    • Ninety Six
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Springdale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Springdale is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
    • Fairforest
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Fairforest is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairforest
    • Mathews Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Mathews Village is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mathews Village
    • Panola Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Panola Village is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola Village
    • Coronaca
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Coronaca is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coronaca
    • Grendel Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Grendel Village is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grendel Village
    • Greenwood Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Greenwood Village is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood Village
    • Greenwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bradley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Promised Land
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Promised Land is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Promised Land
    • Verdery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Verdery is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdery
    • Cokesbury
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Cokesbury is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokesbury
  • Laurens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bleases Crossroads, with the one closest to Bleases Crossroads listed first.
    • Anglers Haven
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Anglers Haven is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anglers Haven
    • Cross Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Kinards
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Mountville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Joanna
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Collins Lakeside Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Waterloo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Dover ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Dover is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
    • Lisbon ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Lisbon is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
    • Clinton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Renno
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Renno is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renno
    • Cold Point
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Cold Point is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Point
  • Lexington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bleases Crossroads, with the one closest to Bleases Crossroads listed first.
    • Batesburg - Leesville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Batesburg - Leesville is located in Lexington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batesburg - Leesville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,402 people
    • Batesburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Leesville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Lake Village is located in Lexington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Village
    • Ella
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Ella is located in Lexington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ella
    • Fredonia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Fredonia is located in Lexington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
    • Clubhouse Crossroads
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Clubhouse Crossroads is located in Lexington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clubhouse Crossroads
    • Summit
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Summit is located in Lexington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 486 people
    • Gilbert
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Chapin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Chapin is located in Lexington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,664 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chapin <2>
  • McCormick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bleases Crossroads, with the one closest to Bleases Crossroads listed first.
    • Liberty Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Liberty Hill is located in McCormick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
    • Parksville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Plum Branch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • McCormick
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Newberry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bleases Crossroads, with the one closest to Bleases Crossroads listed first.
    • Old Town Ferry
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Old Town Ferry is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town Ferry
    • Chappells
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Silverstreet
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Mudlick
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Mudlick is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudlick
    • Stoney Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Stoney Hill is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Hill
    • Smyrna
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Helena
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Helena is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
    • Newberry
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Prosperity
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Union
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Union is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Slighs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Slighs is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slighs
    • Little Mountain
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Pomaria
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Bleases Crossroads ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bleases Crossroads.

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 Bleases Crossroads - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Griffith Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffith Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Griffith Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<3> to the north of Saluda.
    • The Griffith Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Griffith Family Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2362117 <4>
  • Gassaway Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Chestnut Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Travis Park Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Butler Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Gassaway Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Mitchell Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Pine Pleasant Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Emory Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (286 more) ...
    • Bethany Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Friendship Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Bozeman - Scurry Graveyard
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)

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>

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

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

  • Chappells
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Meeting Street
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Meeting Street is located in Edgefield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meeting Street
  • Silverstreet
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Vaughanville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Vaughanville is located in Newberry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughanville
  • Pleasant Lane
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasant Lane is located in Edgefield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lane
  • Ninety Six
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Johnston
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Ridge Spring
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Monetta
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Batesburg
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Helena
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Helena is located in Newberry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
  • Leesville
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Cross Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Prosperity
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Milton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Milton is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton

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

Newspapers Published in Bleases Crossroads ...

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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bleases Crossroads.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bleases Crossroads, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bleases Crossroads.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Bleases Crossroads:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bleases Crossroads) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Bleases Crossroads, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.