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

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

Byrds Crossroads is located in Florence 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 Florence County: Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Lee, Marion, Marlboro & Williamsburg.

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

  • Florence County     (The home county of Byrds Crossroads)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Byrds Crossroads, with the one closest to Byrds Crossroads listed first.
    • Salem
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Salem is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
    • Olanta
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Cusac Crossroads
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Cusac Crossroads is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cusac Crossroads
    • Coward
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Scranton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jones Crossroads
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jones Crossroads is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Crossroads
    • Sardis
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Sardis is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis
    • Lake City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Effingham
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Danwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Danwood is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danwood
    • Wren Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Wren Village is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren Village
    • Friendfield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Friendfield is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendfield
    • Cartersville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Cartersville is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartersville
  • Clarendon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Byrds Crossroads, with the one closest to Byrds Crossroads listed first.
    • Turbeville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • New Zion
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Union Crossroads
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Union Crossroads is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Crossroads
    • Sardinia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Gable
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Alcolu
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Manning
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Darlington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Byrds Crossroads, with the one closest to Byrds Crossroads listed first.
    • Alexander Crossroads
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Alexander Crossroads is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Crossroads
    • Lamar
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 <2>
    • Syracuse
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Syracuse is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syracuse
    • Palmetto
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Palmetto is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmetto
    • Philadelphia ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Philadelphia is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
    • Pine Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Pine Village is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Village
    • Darlington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Lydia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Dovesville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Dovesville is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovesville
    • Mont Clare
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Mont Clare is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mont Clare
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Byrds Crossroads, with the one closest to Byrds Crossroads listed first.
    • Lynchburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Atkins
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Atkins is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
    • Elliott
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Alcot
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Alcot is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcot
    • Bishopville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Manville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Manville is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manville
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Byrds Crossroads, with the one closest to Byrds Crossroads listed first.
    • Tabernacle
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Tabernacle is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabernacle
    • Gresham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Laughlin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Laughlin is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laughlin
    • Centenary
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Marion
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Sumter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Byrds Crossroads, with the one closest to Byrds Crossroads listed first.
    • Hobbs Crossroads
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Hobbs Crossroads is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobbs Crossroads
    • Shiloh
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Shiloh is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
    • Mayesville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • East Sumter
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • East Sumter is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sumter
    • Oswego
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Oswego is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswego
    • Mulberry
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Mulberry is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
    • South Sumter
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • South Sumter is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sumter
    • Sumter
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Lakewood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Lakewood is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
    • Ashley Creek Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Ashley Creek Village is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashley Creek Village
    • Millwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Millwood is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millwood
  • Williamsburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Byrds Crossroads, with the one closest to Byrds Crossroads listed first.
    • Moore Crossroads
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Moore Crossroads is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Crossroads
    • Terrell Crossroad
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Terrell Crossroad is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrell Crossroad
    • Cades
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Kingstree
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Indiantown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Indiantown is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indiantown
    • Salters
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Stuckey
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Stuckey is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuckey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
    • Greeleyville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Hemingway
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Nesmith
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Lane
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Lane is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 443 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lane <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Byrds Crossroads ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Byrds 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 Byrds Crossroads - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Byrd Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Bethany Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Johns UMC Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Johns UMC Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Johns UMC Cemetery is located 6 miles [9.7 km]<3> to the west of Lake City.
  • Flowers Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowers Cemetery
    • The Flowers Cemetery has also been known as:
    • New Zion Baptist Church Cemetery
  • Olanta Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Olanta Baptist Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Thomas Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Thomas Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the south of Olanta.
  • Old Branch Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Cockfield - Lynch Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Rush Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • New Town Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (278 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.<5>

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

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

  • Coward
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Scranton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Sardis
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Sardis is located in Florence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis
  • Lake City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Seloc
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Seloc is located in Clarendon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seloc
  • Effingham
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Shiloh
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Shiloh is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
  • New Zion
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Friendfield
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Friendfield is located in Florence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendfield
  • Cades
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Cartersville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Cartersville is located in Florence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartersville
  • Timmonsville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Howe
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Howe is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
    • Lynchburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Sardinia
      (14 miles [22.5 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 Byrds Crossroads. See our List of 1890's Communities around Byrds Crossroads.

Newspapers Published in Byrds 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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Byrds Crossroads.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Byrds Crossroads, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Byrds Crossroads.

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 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 Byrds 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 '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- Byrds 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 Byrds Crossroads, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.