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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 Fairfax (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 Fairfax. 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 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.

Fairfax 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 Fairfax. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Fairfax:

  • Berkeley County     (The home county of Fairfax)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
    • Mount Holly
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Mount Holly is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Holly
    • Camelot Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Camelot Village is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelot Village
    • Caromi Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Caromi Village is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caromi Village
    • Highland Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Highland Village is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
    • Goose Creek
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Ladson
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Tarry Town
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Tarry Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarry Town
    • Hanahan
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Washington Town
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Washington Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Town
    • Moncks Corner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Cordesville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Pinopolis
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Wando
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Charleston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
    • Otranto
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Otranto is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otranto
    • Lincolnville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Lincolnville is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,624 people
    • North Charleston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Dorchester
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Dorchester is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
    • Grove Creek Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Grove Creek Village is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Creek Village
    • Old Town
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Old Town is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
    • Charles Towne Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Charles Towne Village is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charles Towne Village
    • Essex Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Essex Village is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essex Village
    • Charleston
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Pleasant
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • The Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • The Village is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Village
    • Ravenel
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • James Island
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • James Island is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James Island
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,226 people
  • Colleton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
    • Cottageville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Jacksonboro
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Round O
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Sidney
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Sidney is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
    • Drigger Crossroads
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Drigger Crossroads is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drigger Crossroads
  • Dorchester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
    • Chandler Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Chandler Village is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Village
    • Summerville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Brownsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Brownsville is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
    • Flowertown Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Flowertown Village is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowertown Village
    • Ridgeville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Dorchester
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Harleyville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Orangeburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
    • Holly Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Possum Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Possum Town is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possum Town
    • Eutawville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Ferguson ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Ferguson is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
    • Green Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Green Town is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Town

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

Cemeteries Near Fairfax ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fairfax.

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

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

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

  • The Droze Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • The Droze Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Pear Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Huff Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Whispering Pines Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Cherry Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. James Goose Creek Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Plantation Gardens Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Williams Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Goose Creek Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Salem Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Ridge Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (199 more) ...
    • Groomsville Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Smyrna Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Medway Plantation Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)

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

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

  • Mount Holly
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Mount Holly is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Holly
  • Ladson
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Otranto
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Otranto is located in Charleston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otranto
  • Strawberry
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Strawberry is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry
  • Summerville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Belvedere
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Belvedere is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvedere
  • Long Ridge
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Long Ridge is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Ridge
  • Moncks Corner
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Wando
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Huger
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Ridgeville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Charleston
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Macbeth
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Macbeth is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macbeth
    • Mount Pleasant
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Bethera
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Fairfax ...

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 8 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fairfax.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fairfax, there are papers which were published within 6 miles [9.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fairfax.

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 Fairfax:

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 Fairfax, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Fairfax) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.