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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 James Island (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 James Island. 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 James Island ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for James Island: James Is. (in Canada, 'Isld.' is the more common abbreviation.)
  • While the name of this town is James Island, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So James Island may originally have been Jame's Island.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case James Island might be written as Jame Island.

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

James Island is located in Charleston 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 Charleston County: Berkeley, Colleton, Dorchester & Georgetown.

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

  • Charleston County     (The home county of James Island)
    • The following are listed by their distance from James Island, with the one closest to James Island listed first.
    • Charleston
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Charles Towne Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Charles Towne Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charles Towne Village
      • Charles Towne Village is located in Charleston County
    • Old Town
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
      • Old Town is located in Charleston County
    • Folly Beach
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Grove Creek Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove Creek Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Creek Village
      • Grove Creek Village is located in Charleston County
    • Essex Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Essex Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essex Village
      • Essex Village is located in Charleston County
    • Sullivan's Island
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Johns Island
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Dorchester
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
      • Dorchester is located in Charleston County
    • The Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for The Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Village
      • The Village is located in Charleston County
    • North Charleston
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Island-of-Palms
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Island-of-Palms have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island-of-Palms
      • Island-of-Palms is located in Charleston County
  • Berkeley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from James Island, with the one closest to James Island listed first.
    • Hanahan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Wando
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Goose Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Camelot Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camelot Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelot Village
      • Camelot Village is located in Berkeley County
    • Ladson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Caromi Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caromi Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caromi Village
      • Caromi Village is located in Berkeley County
    • Highland Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highland Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
      • Highland Village is located in Berkeley County
    • Tarry Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tarry Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarry Town
      • Tarry Town is located in Berkeley County
    • Huger
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Cordesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Washington Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Washington Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Town
      • Washington Town is located in Berkeley County
  • Colleton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from James Island, with the one closest to James Island listed first.
    • Edisto Beach
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edisto Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edisto Beach
      • Edisto Beach is located in Colleton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 402 people
    • Jacksonboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Dorchester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from James Island, with the one closest to James Island listed first.
    • Chandler Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chandler Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Village
      • Chandler Village is located in Dorchester County
    • Flowertown Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flowertown Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowertown Village
      • Flowertown Village is located in Dorchester County
    • Summerville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Brownsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
      • Brownsville is located in Dorchester County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of James Island ...

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 210 newspapers that have been published in the area around James Island.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of James Island. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of James Island and those printed in the larger area surrounding James Island.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<4> of James Island.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 James Island:

Cemeteries Near James Island ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of James Island.

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

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

  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Cross Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Cemetery
  • First Baptist Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Michaels Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Quaker Churchyard Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Quaker Churchyard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Quaker Churchyard Cemetery
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Peters Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Peters Cemetery
  • Brown Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brown Cemetery
  • Second Presbyterian Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • St. Patricks Catholic Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Hebrew Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hebrew Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hebrew Cemetery
  • St. Lawrence Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Bethany Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (90 more) ...
    • Emanuel AME Church Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Greek Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • The Greek Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Greek Orthodox Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greek Cemetery
    • Adverse Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • The Adverse Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Calvary Baptist Church Cemetery
      • Citadel Square Baptist Church Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Adverse Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #69384 <5>

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, James Island had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, James Island had a population of 12,226 people.

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

  • Charleston
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Mount Pleasant
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Belvedere
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belvedere have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvedere
    • Belvedere is located in Berkeley County
  • Wando
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Otranto
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otranto have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otranto
    • Otranto is located in Charleston County
  • Ladson
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Mount Holly
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Holly have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Holly
    • Mount Holly is located in Berkeley County
  • Summerville
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Strawberry
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strawberry have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry
    • Strawberry is located in Berkeley County
  • Huger
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Jacksonboro
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)

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

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

The official website for Charleston County: www.charlestoncounty.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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- James Island) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in James Island. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.7299, Longitude: -79.9561    
<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 James Island, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024