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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 Elgin (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 Elgin. 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 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 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.

Elgin is located in Lancaster 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 Lancaster County: Mecklenburg (NC), Union (NC), Chester, Chesterfield, Fairfield, Kershaw & York.

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

  • Lancaster County     (The home county of Elgin)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
    • Primus
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Lancaster Mill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lancaster Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster Mill
      • Lancaster Mill is located in Lancaster County
    • Lancaster
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Pleasant Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Irwin
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irwin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
      • Irwin is located in Lancaster County
    • Camp Creek
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Union
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Heath Springs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Oakhurst
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oakhurst. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakhurst
      • Oakhurst is located in Lancaster County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Oakhurst
      • From Elgin to Oakhurst
    • Bell Town
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bell Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Town
      • Bell Town is located in Lancaster County
    • Caskey
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Caskey. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caskey
      • Caskey is located in Lancaster County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Caskey
      • From Elgin to Caskey
    • Riverside
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Riverside. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
      • Riverside is located in Lancaster County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Riverside
      • From Elgin to Riverside
    • Van Wyck
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Chester County
  • Chesterfield County
  • Fairfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
    • Mitford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • White Oak
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodward
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Woodward. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodward
      • Woodward is located in Fairfield County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Woodward
      • From Elgin to Woodward
    • Adger
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Adger. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adger
      • Adger is located in Fairfield County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Adger
      • From Elgin to Adger
    • Ridgeway
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Winnsboro Mills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winnsboro Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnsboro Mills
      • Winnsboro Mills is located in Fairfield County
    • Winnsboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Smallwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Kershaw County
  • York County
  • Mecklenburg County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
    • Weddington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weddington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weddington
      • Weddington is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,389 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Weddington <2>
    • Pineville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Providence ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Providence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
      • Providence is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
    • Matthews
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Union County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
    • Jaars
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jaars have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaars
      • Jaars is located in Union County (NC)
    • Jackson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jackson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
      • Jackson is located in Union County (NC)
    • Trinity
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trinity have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity
      • Trinity is located in Union County (NC)
    • Waxhaw
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Altan
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Mineral Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
      • Mineral Springs is located in Union County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,171 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mineral Springs <2>
    • Carmel Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carmel Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel Village
      • Carmel Village is located in Union County (NC)
    • Wesley Chapel
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wesley Chapel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley Chapel
      • Wesley Chapel is located in Union County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,476 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wesley Chapel <2>
    • Marvin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marvin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marvin
      • Marvin is located in Union County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,920 people
    • Rock Rest
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Monroe
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monroe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Monroe is located in Union County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35,668 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Monroe <2>
    • White Oak
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
      • White Oak is located in Union County (NC)
    • Allens Crossroads
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Elgin ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elgin.

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

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

  • Caskey Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Caskey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Caskey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Baskins Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Baskins Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Baskins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Clinton Memorial Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clinton Memorial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clinton Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Side Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Side Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Side Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Presbyterian Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Presbyterian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Presbyterian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lancaster Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Carmel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fork Hill Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Carmel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mobley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mobley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mobley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mackey Walker Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mackey Walker Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mackey Walker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shiloh Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shiloh Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (146 more) ...
    • Camp Creek Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Camp Creek Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Camp Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Beaver Creek Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beaver Creek Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beaver Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Hammond Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hammond Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hammond Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 Elgin in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Elgin.

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

  • Pleasant Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Primus
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Oakhurst
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oakhurst. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakhurst
    • Oakhurst is located in Lancaster County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Oakhurst
    • From Elgin to Oakhurst
  • New Cut
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Cut have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Cut
    • New Cut is located in Lancaster County
  • Caskey
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Caskey. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caskey
    • Caskey is located in Lancaster County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Caskey
    • From Elgin to Caskey
  • Riverside
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Riverside. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
    • Riverside is located in Lancaster County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Riverside
    • From Elgin to Riverside
  • Landsford
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Landsford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landsford
    • Landsford is located in Chester County
  • Fort Lawn
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Kershaw
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Taxahaw
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taxahaw have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taxahaw
    • Taxahaw is located in Lancaster County
  • Tradesville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tradesville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tradesville
    • Tradesville is located in Lancaster County
  • Walkersville ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walkersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkersville
    • Walkersville is located in Union County (NC)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Liberty Hill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Flat Rock
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flat Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
      • Flat Rock is located in Kershaw County
    • Dudley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dudley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
      • Dudley is located in Chesterfield County

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

Newspapers Published in Elgin ...

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 14 newspapers that have been published in the area around Elgin.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Elgin, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Elgin.

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 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 Elgin:

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

The official website for Lancaster County: www.lancastercountysc.net/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Elgin, 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- Elgin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Elgin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.6753, Longitude: -80.7214    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 22 Apr 2025