RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of South Carolina >> Jasper County >> Grays >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
South Carolina

The Commemorative Quarter for South Carolina





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 Grays (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 Grays. 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.

Grays is located in Jasper 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 Jasper County: Chatham (GA), Effingham (GA), Beaufort & Hampton.

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

  • Jasper County     (The home county of Grays)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grays, with the one closest to Grays listed first.
    • Pineland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Ridgeland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Tillman
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Allendale County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grays, with the one closest to Grays listed first.
    • Fairfax
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Sycamore
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Allendale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Bamberg County
    • Ehrhardt
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Beaufort County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grays, with the one closest to Grays listed first.
    • Yemassee
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Sheldon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Seabrook
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Lobeco
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Dale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Laurel Bay
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Bay
      • Laurel Bay is located in Beaufort County
    • Burton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Polk Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Polk Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk Village
      • Polk Village is located in Beaufort County
    • Beaufort
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Shell Point
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shell Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Point
      • Shell Point is located in Beaufort County
    • Okatie
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Battery Marina Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Battery Marina Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battery Marina Village
      • Battery Marina Village is located in Beaufort County
  • Colleton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grays, with the one closest to Grays listed first.
    • Islandton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Sniders Crossroads
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sniders Crossroads
      • Sniders Crossroads is located in Colleton County
    • Green Pond
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Ashton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
      • Ashton is located in Colleton County
    • Ritter
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Ruffin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Walterboro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Williams
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Lodge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Hampton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grays, with the one closest to Grays listed first.
    • Barkerville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barkerville
      • Barkerville is located in Hampton County
      • Barkerville has also been known as:
      • Haywardville
    • Early Branch
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Furman
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Varnville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Scotia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Estill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Garnett
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Hampton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Luray
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Crocketville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Miley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Gifford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Effingham County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grays, with the one closest to Grays listed first.
    • Two Sisters Ferry
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Two Sisters Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Two Sisters Ferry
      • Two Sisters Ferry is located in Effingham County (GA)
      • Estimated population in 2019: 3,063 people
    • Clyo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Haddonville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haddonville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haddonville
      • Haddonville is located in Effingham County (GA)
      • Estimated population in 2019: 965 people
    • Springfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Rincon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rincon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rincon
      • Rincon is located in Effingham County (GA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,655 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rincon <1>
    • Egypt
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
      • Egypt is located in Effingham County (GA)
  • Screven County (GA)
    • Newington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newington
      • Newington is located in Screven County (GA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newington <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Grays ...

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 11 newspapers that have been published in the area around Grays.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Grays, 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 Grays.

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 Grays:

Cemeteries Near Grays ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Grays.

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

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

  • Grimes Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Davis Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Winn Wynn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Anderson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Thames Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Jerusalem Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Live Oak Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Sand Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • DeLoach Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (161 more) ...
    • Peeples Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Salkehatchie Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salkehatchie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salkehatchie Cemetery
    • Zahler Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zahler Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zahler 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.<4>

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

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

  • Horsegall
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Horsegall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horsegall
    • Horsegall is located in Hampton County
  • Davidson
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davidson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davidson
    • Davidson is located in Hampton County
  • Early Branch
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Cummings
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cummings have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cummings
    • Cummings is located in Hampton County
  • Stafford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stafford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stafford
    • Stafford is located in Hampton County
  • Yemassee
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Almeda
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Almeda have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almeda
    • Almeda is located in Hampton County
  • Varnville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Tomotley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tomotley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomotley
    • Tomotley is located in Beaufort County
  • Salkehatchie
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salkehatchie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salkehatchie
    • Salkehatchie is located in Colleton County
  • Scotia
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Garnett
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Ridgeland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Estill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Hampton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)

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

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

The official website for Jasper County: www.jaspercountysc.org/

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- Grays) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Grays. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.6738, Longitude: -81.0204       In this case, the coordinates for Grays have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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 Grays, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024