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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 Calestown (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 Calestown. 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.

Calestown is located in Berkeley 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 Berkeley County: Charleston, Dorchester, Georgetown, Orangeburg & Williamsburg.

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

  • Berkeley County     (The home county of Calestown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Calestown, with the one closest to Calestown listed first.
    • Alvin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Alvin is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvin
    • Jamestown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Wrangle Town ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Wrangle Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrangle Town
    • Bethera
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Harris Town
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Harris Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Town
    • Bonneau
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Saint Stephen
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Russellville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Cordesville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Huger
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Moncks Corner
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Pinopolis
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Judge Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Judge Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judge Town
  • Charleston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Calestown, with the one closest to Calestown listed first.
    • Awendaw
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Pineland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Pineland is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineland
    • McClellanville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Otranto
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Otranto is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otranto
    • Lincolnville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lincolnville is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,624 people
  • Clarendon County
    • Shad Moss village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Shad Moss village is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shad Moss village
  • Dorchester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Calestown, with the one closest to Calestown listed first.
    • Summerville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Chandler Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Chandler Village is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Village
    • Brownsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Brownsville is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
  • Georgetown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Calestown, with the one closest to Calestown listed first.
    • Andrews
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Sampit
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Sampit is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampit
    • Willie Towne
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Willie Towne is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willie Towne
    • Georgetown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Steele Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Steele Town is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steele Town
  • Orangeburg County
    • Ferguson ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Ferguson is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
  • Williamsburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Calestown, with the one closest to Calestown listed first.
    • Cedar Creek ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Cedar Creek is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
    • Lane
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • 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 <1>
    • Salters
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Greeleyville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Snow Town
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Snow Town is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Town
    • Kingstree
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Nesmith
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Calestown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Calestown.

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 Calestown - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Von Hollen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Hoods Chapel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Taylor Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Reed Corner Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Edens Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Macedonia Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Hickory Grove Pentecostal Holiness Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Providence Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Berea Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (154 more) ...
    • Oak Grove Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • St. James Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Betaw Plantation Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)

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

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

  • Alvin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Alvin is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvin
  • Bethera
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Suttons
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Suttons is located in Williamsburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suttons
  • Palmerville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Palmerville is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmerville
  • Bonneau
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Macbeth
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Macbeth is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macbeth
  • Saint Stephen
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Huger
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Moncks Corner
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Honey Hill
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Honey Hill is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Hill
  • Earle
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Earle is located in Williamsburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earle
  • Trio
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Trio is located in Williamsburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trio
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Lane
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • 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 <1>
    • Strawberry
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Strawberry is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry
    • Sampit
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Sampit is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampit

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

Newspapers Published in Calestown ...

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 7 newspapers that have been published in the area around Calestown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Calestown, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Calestown.

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 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 Calestown:

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>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- Calestown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Calestown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.