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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 Fort Motte (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 Fort Motte. 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.

Name Variations for Fort Motte ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Fort Motte: Ft. Motte

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Fort Motte is located in Calhoun 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 Calhoun County: Clarendon, Lexington, Orangeburg, Richland & Sumter.

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

  • Calhoun County     (The home county of Fort Motte)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Motte, with the one closest to Fort Motte listed first.
    • Saint Matthews
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Creston
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creston
      • Creston is located in Calhoun County
    • Cameron
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cameron have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
      • Cameron is located in Calhoun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
  • Clarendon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Motte, with the one closest to Fort Motte listed first.
    • Panola
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panola have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
      • Panola is located in Clarendon County
    • Paxville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Silver
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver
      • Silver is located in Clarendon County
    • Summerton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Davis Station
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Alcolu
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Manning
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Jordan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jordan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
      • Jordan is located in Clarendon County
    • Shad Moss village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shad Moss village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shad Moss village
      • Shad Moss village is located in Clarendon County
  • Kershaw County
    • Elgin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
      • Elgin is located in Kershaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,585 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elgin <1>
  • Lancaster County
  • Lexington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Motte, with the one closest to Fort Motte listed first.
    • Swansea
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Gaston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaston
      • Gaston is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,712 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gaston <1>
    • Glenn Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glenn Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Village
      • Glenn Village is located in Lexington County
    • Cayce
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayce
      • Cayce is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,994 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cayce <1>
    • Pineridge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineridge
      • Pineridge is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,419 people
    • West Columbia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • South Congaree
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Congaree have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Congaree
      • South Congaree is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,485 people
    • Springdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
      • Springdale is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
    • Oak Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
      • Oak Grove is located in Lexington County
  • Orangeburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Motte, with the one closest to Fort Motte listed first.
    • Jamison
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamison
      • Jamison is located in Orangeburg County
    • Elloree
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Wren Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wren Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren Village
      • Wren Village is located in Orangeburg County
    • Stilton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stilton
      • Stilton is located in Orangeburg County
    • Brookdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookdale
      • Brookdale is located in Orangeburg County
    • Wilkinson Heights
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilkinson Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkinson Heights
      • Wilkinson Heights is located in Orangeburg County
    • Parler
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parler
      • Parler is located in Orangeburg County
    • Orangeburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Santee
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Edisto
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edisto have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edisto
      • Edisto is located in Orangeburg County
    • Cordova
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
      • Woodford is located in Orangeburg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
    • North
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North
      • North is located in Orangeburg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 699 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North <1>
  • Richland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Motte, with the one closest to Fort Motte listed first.
    • Gadsden
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Eastover
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Weston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
      • Weston is located in Richland County
    • Pinewood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood
      • Pinewood is located in Richland County
    • Bruner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
      • Bruner is located in Richland County
    • Hopkins
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Capitol View
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitol View
      • Capitol View is located in Richland County
    • Arthurtown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthurtown
      • Arthurtown is located in Richland County
    • Valencia Heights
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valencia Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valencia Heights
      • Valencia Heights is located in Richland County
    • Forest Acres
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Acres
      • Forest Acres is located in Richland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,269 people
    • Hollywood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
      • Hollywood is located in Richland County
    • Ravenwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenwood
      • Ravenwood is located in Richland County
    • Woodfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodfield
      • Woodfield is located in Richland County
  • Sumter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Motte, with the one closest to Fort Motte listed first.
    • Pinewood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Wedgefield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Cane Savannah
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cane Savannah have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Savannah
      • Cane Savannah is located in Sumter County
    • Privateer
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Privateer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Privateer
      • Privateer is located in Sumter County
    • Stateburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stateburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stateburg
      • Stateburg is located in Sumter County
    • Horatio
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Ashley Creek Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashley Creek Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashley Creek Village
      • Ashley Creek Village is located in Sumter County
    • Cherryvale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherryvale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherryvale
      • Cherryvale is located in Sumter County
    • Oakland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
      • Oakland is located in Sumter County
    • Lakewood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
      • Lakewood is located in Sumter County
    • Millwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millwood
      • Millwood is located in Sumter County
    • South Sumter
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Sumter have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sumter
      • South Sumter is located in Sumter County
    • Sumter
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Fort Motte ...

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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fort Motte.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fort Motte, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fort Motte.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Fort Motte:

Cemeteries Near Fort Motte ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fort Motte.

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

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

  • Goodin Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Goodin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Goodin Cemetery
  • Tom Seay Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tom Seay Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tom Seay Cemetery
  • St. Luke AME Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Nebo Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • W.F. Seay Family Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the W.F. Seay Family Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • The W.F. Seay Family Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Joyner Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the W.F. Seay Family Cemetery
  • First Assembly of God Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • West End Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West End Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West End Cemetery
  • Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • St. Mark Baptist Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Bloom Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bloom Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bloom Hill Cemetery
  • St. Phillip AME Church Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Non-Denomination Church of God Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (234 more) ...

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.<6>

While we didn't find Fort Motte in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Fort Motte.

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

  • Saint Matthews
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Gadsden
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Weston
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
    • Weston is located in Richland County
  • Rimini
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rimini have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rimini
    • Rimini is located in Clarendon County
  • Congaree
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Congaree have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congaree
    • Congaree is located in Richland County
  • Jamison
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamison
    • Jamison is located in Orangeburg County
  • Wedgefield
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Elloree
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Hopkins
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Stilton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stilton
    • Stilton is located in Orangeburg County
  • Panola
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panola have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
    • Panola is located in Clarendon County
  • Privateer
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Privateer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Privateer
    • Privateer is located in Sumter County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Cane Savannah
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cane Savannah have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Savannah
      • Cane Savannah is located in Sumter County
    • Claremont
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Claremont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
      • Claremont is located in Sumter County
    • Parler
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parler
      • Parler 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 Fort Motte. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fort Motte.

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

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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Fort Motte) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fort Motte. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.7390, Longitude: -80.6926       In this case, the coordinates for Fort Motte have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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.
<6>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 Fort Motte, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024