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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 Maddens (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 Maddens. 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 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.

Maddens is located in Laurens 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 Laurens County: Abbeville, Anderson, Greenville, Greenwood, Newberry, Spartanburg & Union.

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

  • Laurens County     (The home county of Maddens)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Maddens, with the one closest to Maddens listed first.
    • Cold Point
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Cold Point is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Point
    • Laurens
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lisbon ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Lisbon is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
    • Simpson ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Simpson is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
    • Ekom
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Ekom is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekom
    • Waterloo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Mountville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Gallagher
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Mount Gallagher is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gallagher
    • Clinton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Gray Court
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Collins Lakeside Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Cross Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Abbeville County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Maddens, with the one closest to Maddens listed first.
    • Ware Shoals
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Donalds
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Honea Path
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Due West
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cana ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Cana is located in Abbeville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cana
    • Level Land
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Level Land is located in Abbeville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Level Land
    • Abbeville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Antreville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Antreville is located in Abbeville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antreville
  • Anderson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Maddens, with the one closest to Maddens listed first.
    • Belton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Pelzer
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Williamston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • West Pelzer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • West Pelzer is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pelzer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 953 people
    • Piedmont
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Greenville County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Maddens, with the one closest to Maddens listed first.
    • Fork Shoals
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Fork Shoals is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fork Shoals
    • Fountain Inn
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Lickville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Lickville is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickville
    • Simpsonville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodland Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Woodland Village is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
    • Five Forks
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Five Forks is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
    • Mauldin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Mauldin is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mauldin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,562 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mauldin <1>
    • Conestee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Pelham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Pelham is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
    • Golden Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Golden Grove is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Grove
    • Gantt
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Gantt is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gantt
    • Pine Hill Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Pine Hill Village is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill Village
  • Greenwood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Maddens, with the one closest to Maddens listed first.
    • Coronaca
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Coronaca is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coronaca
    • Cokesbury
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Cokesbury is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokesbury
    • Hodges
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Grendel Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Grendel Village is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grendel Village
    • Greenwood Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Greenwood Village is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood Village
    • Greenwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Ninety Six
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Fairforest
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Fairforest is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairforest
    • Panola Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Panola Village is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola Village
    • Springdale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Springdale is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
    • Mathews Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Mathews Village is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mathews Village
    • Promised Land
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Promised Land is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Promised Land
  • Newberry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Maddens, with the one closest to Maddens listed first.
    • Mudlick
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Mudlick is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudlick
    • Chappells
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Smyrna
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Whitmire
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Old Town Ferry
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Old Town Ferry is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town Ferry
    • Silverstreet
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Helena
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Helena is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
    • Newberry
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Spartanburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Maddens, with the one closest to Maddens listed first.
    • Enoree
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Cross Anchor
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodruff
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Crescent
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Crescent is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
    • Green Pond
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Green Pond is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Pond
    • Moore
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Pauline
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Reidville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Roebuck
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Maddens, with the one closest to Maddens listed first.
    • Sedalia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Sedalia is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
    • Bishop Town ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Bishop Town is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop Town
    • Colerain
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Colerain is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colerain
    • Buffalo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Delta
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Delta is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
    • Red Town ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Red Town is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Town
    • Sartor Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Sartor Town is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sartor Town
    • Union
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Maddens ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Maddens.

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

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

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

  • New Prospect Baptist Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Jersey Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Chesnut Ridge Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Trinity Methodist Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Forest Lawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Barksdale Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Hopewell Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Lisbon Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Beaverdam Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Holy Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (299 more) ...
    • Bolt Family Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Rocky Springs Presbyterian Church Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Smyrna Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)

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.<3>

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

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

  • Lisbon ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Lisbon is located in Laurens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
  • Ekom
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Ekom is located in Laurens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekom
  • Barksdale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Barksdale is located in Laurens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barksdale
  • Waterloo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Mount Gallagher
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Gallagher is located in Laurens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gallagher
  • Mountville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Clinton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Ora
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Ora is located in Laurens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
  • Brewerton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Brewerton is located in Laurens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewerton
  • Gray Court
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Cross Hill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Milton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Milton is located in Laurens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Tylersville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Tylersville is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tylersville
    • Owings
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Owings is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owings
    • Dover ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Dover is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover

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

Newspapers Published in Maddens ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Maddens.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Maddens, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Maddens.

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 either 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 Maddens:

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 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.
<3>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 Maddens, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Maddens) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.