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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 Briarcliff (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 Briarcliff. 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.

Briarcliff is located in Florence County.

To see how the shape of South Carolina's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Florence County: Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Lee, Marion, Marlboro & Williamsburg.

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

  • Florence County     (The home county of Briarcliff)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarcliff, with the one closest to Briarcliff listed first.
    • Florence
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Quinby
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Siesta Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Siesta Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siesta Village
      • Siesta Village is located in Florence County
    • Ebenezer
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebenezer
      • Ebenezer is located in Florence County
    • Park City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
      • Park City is located in Florence County
    • Tara Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tara Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tara Village
      • Tara Village is located in Florence County
    • Mars Bluff
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mars Bluff. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mars Bluff
      • Mars Bluff is located in Florence County
    • Danwood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danwood
      • Danwood is located in Florence County
    • Jamestown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
      • Jamestown is located in Florence County
    • Timmonsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Effingham
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Jones Crossroads
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Crossroads
      • Jones Crossroads is located in Florence County
    • Cusac Crossroads
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cusac Crossroads
      • Cusac Crossroads is located in Florence County
  • Chesterfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarcliff, with the one closest to Briarcliff listed first.
    • Patrick
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • McBee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBee
      • McBee is located in Chesterfield County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 838 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McBee <1>
  • Clarendon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarcliff, with the one closest to Briarcliff listed first.
    • Turbeville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • New Zion
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Union Crossroads
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Crossroads
      • Union Crossroads is located in Clarendon County
  • Darlington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarcliff, with the one closest to Briarcliff listed first.
    • Palmetto
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Palmetto. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmetto
      • Palmetto is located in Darlington County
    • Pine Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Village
      • Pine Village is located in Darlington County
    • Darlington
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Alexander Crossroads
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Crossroads
      • Alexander Crossroads is located in Darlington County
    • Syracuse
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syracuse
      • Syracuse is located in Darlington County
    • Philadelphia ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Philadelphia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
      • Philadelphia is located in Darlington County
    • Mont Clare
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mont Clare
      • Mont Clare is located in Darlington County
    • Dovesville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dovesville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovesville
      • Dovesville is located in Darlington County
    • Lamar
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamar
      • Lamar is located in Darlington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lamar <1>
    • Hartsville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Lydia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • North Hartsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Hartsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hartsville
      • North Hartsville is located in Darlington County
    • Greenplains ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenplains have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenplains
      • Greenplains is located in Darlington County
  • Dillon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarcliff, with the one closest to Briarcliff listed first.
    • Latta
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Floydale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Dillon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Minturn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Little Rock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Fork
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarcliff, with the one closest to Briarcliff listed first.
    • Lynchburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Alcot
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcot
      • Alcot is located in Lee County
    • Atkins
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Atkins. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
      • Atkins is located in Lee County
    • Elliott
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Bishopville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Manville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manville
      • Manville is located in Lee County
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarcliff, with the one closest to Briarcliff listed first.
    • Laughlin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Laughlin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laughlin
      • Laughlin is located in Marion County
    • Sellers
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Marion
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Tabernacle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tabernacle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabernacle
      • Tabernacle is located in Marion County
    • Centenary
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Rains
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Gresham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Marlboro County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarcliff, with the one closest to Briarcliff listed first.
    • Brownsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
      • Brownsville is located in Marlboro County
    • Drake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drake
      • Drake is located in Marlboro County
    • Blenheim
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Bennettsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Clio
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clio
      • Clio is located in Marlboro County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 645 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clio <1>
  • Sumter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarcliff, with the one closest to Briarcliff listed first.
    • Hobbs Crossroads
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobbs Crossroads
      • Hobbs Crossroads is located in Sumter County
    • Shiloh
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shiloh have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
      • Shiloh is located in Sumter County
    • Mayesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Williamsburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarcliff, with the one closest to Briarcliff listed first.
    • Moore Crossroads
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Crossroads
      • Moore Crossroads is located in Williamsburg County
    • Terrell Crossroad
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrell Crossroad
      • Terrell Crossroad is located in Williamsburg County
    • Cades
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Briarcliff ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Briarcliff.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • North Vista Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Vista Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Vista Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Cumberland United Methodist Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Florence National Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Fraternity Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fraternity Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fraternity Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Palmetto Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palmetto Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Palmetto Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Florence Memorial Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Florence Memorial Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Florence Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • James Memorial Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Bacot Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bacot Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bacot Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sunset Memory Gardens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunset Memory Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunset Memory Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hillside FWB Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Howe Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Howe Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Howe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (301 more) ...
    • Burch Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burch Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Pigiott Field Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pigiott Field Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pigiott Field Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Hinds Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hinds Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hinds Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Briarcliff in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Briarcliff.

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

  • Florence
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Palmetto
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Palmetto. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmetto
    • Palmetto is located in Darlington County
  • Ebenezer
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebenezer
    • Ebenezer is located in Florence County
  • Howe
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howe have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
    • Howe is located in Florence County
  • Mars Bluff
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mars Bluff. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mars Bluff
    • Mars Bluff is located in Florence County
  • Syracuse
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syracuse
    • Syracuse is located in Darlington County
  • Timmonsville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Philadelphia ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Philadelphia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
    • Philadelphia is located in Darlington County
  • Effingham
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Claussen
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Claussen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claussen
    • Claussen is located in Florence County
  • Floyd
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Floyd have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floyd
    • Floyd is located in Darlington County
  • Mont Clare
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mont Clare
    • Mont Clare is located in Darlington County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Dovesville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dovesville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovesville
      • Dovesville is located in Darlington County
    • Sardis
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sardis. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis
      • Sardis is located in Florence County
    • Lamar
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamar
      • Lamar is located in Darlington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lamar <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Briarcliff ...

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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Briarcliff.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Briarcliff, there are papers which were published within 6 miles [9.7 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Briarcliff.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Briarcliff:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Briarcliff. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Florence County: www.florenceco.org/

The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.gov/

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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 Briarcliff, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Briarcliff) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Briarcliff. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.2232, Longitude: -79.8012       In this case, the coordinates for Briarcliff have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 22 Apr 2025