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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 Dorchester (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 Dorchester. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Dorchester is located in Dorchester 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 Dorchester County: Bamberg, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton & Orangeburg.

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

  • Dorchester County     (The home county of Dorchester)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dorchester, with the one closest to Dorchester listed first.
    • Ridgeville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Harleyville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Grover
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Saint George
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Brownsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
      • Brownsville is located in Dorchester County
    • Flowertown Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flowertown Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowertown Village
      • Flowertown Village is located in Dorchester County
    • Summerville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Reevesville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Chandler Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chandler Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Village
      • Chandler Village is located in Dorchester County
  • Berkeley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dorchester, with the one closest to Dorchester listed first.
    • Sandridge
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandridge
      • Sandridge is located in Berkeley County
    • Washington Town
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Washington Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Town
      • Washington Town is located in Berkeley County
    • Highland Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highland Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
      • Highland Village is located in Berkeley County
    • Cross
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Ladson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Caromi Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caromi Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caromi Village
      • Caromi Village is located in Berkeley County
    • Pinopolis
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Moncks Corner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Camelot Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camelot Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelot Village
      • Camelot Village is located in Berkeley County
    • Tarry Town
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tarry Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarry Town
      • Tarry Town is located in Berkeley County
    • Goose Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Hanahan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Charleston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dorchester, with the one closest to Dorchester listed first.
    • Lincolnville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnville
      • Lincolnville is located in Charleston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,624 people
    • Canady Landing ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canady Landing
      • Canady Landing is located in Charleston County
    • Otranto
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otranto have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otranto
      • Otranto is located in Charleston County
    • Ravenel
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Adams Run
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Hollywood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • North Charleston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Meggett
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Dorchester
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
      • Dorchester is located in Charleston County
  • Colleton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dorchester, with the one closest to Dorchester listed first.
    • Sidney
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sidney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
      • Sidney is located in Colleton County
    • Cottageville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Canadys
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Round O
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Drigger Crossroads
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drigger Crossroads
      • Drigger Crossroads is located in Colleton County
    • Walterboro
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Johnsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsville
      • Johnsville is located in Colleton County
    • Smoaks
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Jacksonboro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Ruffin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Williams
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Ritter
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ritter have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritter
      • Ritter is located in Colleton County
  • Orangeburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dorchester, with the one closest to Dorchester listed first.
    • Holly Hill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Wells
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
      • Wells is located in Orangeburg County
    • Green Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Town
      • Green Town is located in Orangeburg County
    • Possum Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Possum Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possum Town
      • Possum Town is located in Orangeburg County
    • Eutawville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Vance
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
      • Vance is located in Orangeburg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vance <1>
    • Ferguson ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
      • Ferguson is located in Orangeburg County
    • Bowman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Santee
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Parler
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parler
      • Parler is located in Orangeburg County
    • Branchville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Sixty Six
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixty Six
      • Sixty Six is located in Orangeburg County

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

Newspapers Published in Dorchester ...

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 12 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dorchester.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dorchester, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dorchester.

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 Dorchester:

Cemeteries Near Dorchester ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dorchester.

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 Dorchester covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Limestone Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Limestone Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Limestone Cemetery
  • Dorchester Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dorchester Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dorchester Cemetery
  • Cummings Chapel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cummings Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cummings Chapel Cemetery
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
  • Bonnerest Garden Of The Resurrection Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mims Lake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mims Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mims Lake Cemetery
  • Harleyville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harleyville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harleyville Cemetery
  • Rumph Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rumph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rumph Cemetery
  • Ferguson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ferguson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ferguson Cemetery
  • Muckenfuss Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Muckenfuss Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Muckenfuss Cemetery
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Johnson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johnson Cemetery
  • Cypress Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cypress Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cypress Cemetery
  • Continue List   (237 more) ...
    • Mt. Zion Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Zion Cemetery
    • Givhans Ferry Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Givhans Ferry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Givhans Ferry Cemetery
    • Springhill Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Springhill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Springhill Cemetery

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

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

  • Ridgeville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Harleyville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Sandridge
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandridge
    • Sandridge is located in Berkeley County
  • Holly Hill
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Long Ridge
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Ridge
    • Long Ridge is located in Berkeley County
  • Cottageville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Connors ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Connors have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Connors
    • Connors is located in Orangeburg County
  • Summerville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Reevesville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Wells
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
    • Wells is located in Orangeburg County
  • Ladson
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Dantzler
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dantzler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dantzler
    • Dantzler is located in Orangeburg County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Vance
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
      • Vance is located in Orangeburg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vance <1>
    • Strawberry
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strawberry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry
      • Strawberry is located in Berkeley County
    • Fifty Eight ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fifty Eight have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fifty Eight
      • Fifty Eight is located in Orangeburg County

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

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

The official website for Dorchester County: www.dorchestercounty.net/

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Dorchester) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dorchester. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.1388, Longitude: -80.3954    
<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 Dorchester, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024