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 Drake (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 Drake. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Drake is located in Abbeville 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 Abbeville County: Elbert (GA), Anderson, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens & McCormick.
Below are the counties that are near Drake. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Drake:
- Abbeville County (The home county of Drake)
- The following are listed by their distance from Drake, with the one closest to Drake listed first.
- Donalds
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Due West
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Honea Path
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Level Land
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Level Land is located in Abbeville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Level Land
- Ware Shoals
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Antreville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Antreville is located in Abbeville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antreville
- Abbeville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Lake Secession
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Lake Secession is located in Abbeville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Secession
- Cana ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Cana is located in Abbeville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cana
- Monterey ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Monterey is located in Abbeville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
- Lowndesville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Latimer
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Latimer is located in Abbeville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latimer
- Calhoun Falls
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Anderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Drake, with the one closest to Drake listed first.
- Belton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Iva
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Iva is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iva
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,341 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Iva <1>
- Deans
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Deans is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deans
- Williamston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Anderson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Caldwell Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Caldwell Village is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caldwell Village
- Homeland Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Homeland Park is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homeland Park
- Starr
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Pelzer
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- West Pelzer
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- West Pelzer is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pelzer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 953 people
- Anderson Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson Village is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Village
- Centerville Terrace Estates
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Centerville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Centerville is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Greenville County
- The following are listed by their distance from Drake, with the one closest to Drake listed first.
- Fork Shoals
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Fork Shoals is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fork Shoals
- Lickville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Lickville is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickville
- Fountain Inn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Golden Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Golden Grove is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Grove
- Simpsonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Conestee
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Mauldin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Woodland Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Woodland Village is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Gantt
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Gantt is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gantt
- Pine Hill Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Pine Hill Village is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill Village
- Greenwood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Drake, with the one closest to Drake listed first.
- Hodges
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cokesbury
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cokesbury is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokesbury
- Greenwood Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Greenwood Village is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood Village
- Greenwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Grendel Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Grendel Village is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grendel Village
- Coronaca
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Coronaca is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coronaca
- Promised Land
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Promised Land is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Promised Land
- Verdery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Verdery is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdery
- Mathews Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mathews Village is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mathews Village
- Panola Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Panola Village is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola Village
- Fairforest
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fairforest is located in Greenwood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairforest
- Bradley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Ninety Six
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Laurens County
- The following are listed by their distance from Drake, with the one closest to Drake listed first.
- Mount Gallagher
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Mount Gallagher is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gallagher
- Princeton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Princeton is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
- Ekom
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ekom is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekom
- Collins Lakeside Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Simpson ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Simpson is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Waterloo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Cold Point
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Cold Point is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Point
- Green Pond
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Green Pond is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Pond
- Cross Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Lisbon ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Lisbon is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
- Mountville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Gray Court
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Laurens
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- McCormick County
- The following are listed by their distance from Drake, with the one closest to Drake listed first.
- Mount Carmel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Willington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Willington is located in McCormick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willington
- McCormick
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Newberry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Drake, with the one closest to Drake listed first.
- Mudlick
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Mudlick is located in Newberry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudlick
- Chappells
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Spartanburg County
- Enoree
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Elbert County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Drake, with the one closest to Drake listed first.
- Bowman Ferry
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Bowman Ferry is located in Elbert County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowman Ferry
- Estimated population in 2019: 808 people
- Edinburg ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Edinburg is located in Elbert County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edinburg
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,396 people
- Harmony
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Harmony is located in Elbert County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Hart County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Drake, with the one closest to Drake listed first.
- Dooleys Ferry
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Dooleys Ferry is located in Hart County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooleys Ferry
- Estimated population in 2019: 136 people
- Cooleys Ferry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Cooleys Ferry is located in Hart County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooleys Ferry
- Estimated population in 2019: 529 people
- Crawfords Ferry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Crawfords Ferry is located in Hart County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawfords Ferry
- Estimated population in 2019: 473 people
- Lincoln County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Drake, with the one closest to Drake listed first.
- Hesters Ferry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Hesters Ferry is located in Lincoln County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hesters Ferry
- Estimated population in 2019: 911 people
- Lisbon ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lisbon is located in Lincoln County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Drake, see our County-by-County Page for Drake.
Cemeteries Near Drake ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Drake.
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 Drake - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Drake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Drake, with the one closest to Drake listed first.
- Due West Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Due West Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Winona Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Donalds Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donalds Cemetery
- The Donalds Cemetery has also been known as:
- Donalds Baptist Church Cemetery
- McClain Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Greenville Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Kay Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bethlehem Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Old Gilgal Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Dunns Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Keowee Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gilgal Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (281 more) ...
- Turkey Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Duncan Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Little River Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Drake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Drake.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Drake, with the one closest to Drake listed first.
- Donalds
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Due West
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Level Land
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Level Land is located in Abbeville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Level Land
- Honea Path
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Hodges
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Brewerton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Brewerton is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewerton
- Darraugh
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Darraugh is located in Abbeville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darraugh
- Antreville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Antreville is located in Abbeville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antreville
- Dover ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dover is located in Abbeville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Mount Gallagher
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Mount Gallagher is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gallagher
- Princeton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Princeton is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
- Storeville ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Storeville is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Storeville
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Ekom
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ekom is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekom
- Belton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Toney Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Toney Creek is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toney Creek
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Drake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Drake.
Newspapers Published in Drake ...
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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Drake.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Drake, 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 Drake.
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 Drake:
- Websites specific to South Carolina
- Pages specific to Abbeville County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Anderson County
- Greenville County
- Greenwood County
- Laurens County
- McCormick County
- Newberry County
- Spartanburg County
- Elbert County
- Hart County
- Lincoln County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for South Carolina
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> | 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 Drake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Drake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |