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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 Meeks (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 Meeks. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

Meeks is located in Florence 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 Florence County: Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Lee, Marion, Marlboro & Williamsburg.

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

  • Florence County     (The home county of Meeks)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Meeks, with the one closest to Meeks listed first.
    • Quinby
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Mars Bluff
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Mars Bluff is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mars Bluff
    • Siesta Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Siesta Village is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siesta Village
    • Florence
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jamestown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jamestown is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
    • Park City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Park City is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
    • Tara Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Tara Village is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tara Village
    • Danwood
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Danwood is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danwood
    • Ebenezer
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Ebenezer is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebenezer
    • Effingham
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jones Crossroads
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jones Crossroads is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Crossroads
    • Timmonsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Clarendon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Meeks, with the one closest to Meeks listed first.
    • Turbeville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • New Zion
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Darlington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Meeks, with the one closest to Meeks listed first.
    • Palmetto
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Palmetto is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmetto
    • Pine Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Pine Village is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Village
    • Darlington
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Alexander Crossroads
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Alexander Crossroads is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Crossroads
    • Mont Clare
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Mont Clare is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mont Clare
    • Syracuse
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Syracuse is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syracuse
    • Philadelphia ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Philadelphia is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
    • Dovesville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Dovesville is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovesville
    • Lamar
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Lamar is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamar
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lamar <1>
    • Society Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Hartsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Lydia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Dillon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Meeks, with the one closest to Meeks listed first.
    • Latta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Floydale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Dillon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Fork
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Little Rock
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Minturn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Hamer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Oakland Crossroads
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Oakland Crossroads is located in Dillon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Crossroads
  • Horry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Meeks, with the one closest to Meeks listed first.
    • Galivants Ferry
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Red Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Red Hill is located in Horry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Meeks, with the one closest to Meeks listed first.
    • Lynchburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Atkins
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Atkins is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
    • Alcot
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Alcot is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcot
    • Elliott
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Bishopville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Meeks, with the one closest to Meeks listed first.
    • Laughlin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Laughlin is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laughlin
    • Sellers
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Marion
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Tabernacle
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Tabernacle is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabernacle
    • Rains
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Centenary
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Gresham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Mullins
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Marlboro County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Meeks, with the one closest to Meeks listed first.
    • Brownsville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Brownsville is located in Marlboro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
    • Drake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Drake is located in Marlboro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drake
    • Blenheim
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Clio
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Clio is located in Marlboro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clio
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 645 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clio <1>
    • Bennettsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Red Bluff
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Red Bluff is located in Marlboro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bluff
  • Sumter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Meeks, with the one closest to Meeks listed first.
    • Hobbs Crossroads
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Hobbs Crossroads is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobbs Crossroads
    • Shiloh
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Shiloh is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
  • Williamsburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Meeks, with the one closest to Meeks listed first.
    • Moore Crossroads
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Moore Crossroads is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Crossroads
    • Terrell Crossroad
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Terrell Crossroad is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrell Crossroad
    • Cades
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Meeks ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Meeks.

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

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

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

  • Pigiott Field Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Fraternity Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Florence National Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Hinds Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • North Vista Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Cumberland UMC Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hillside FWB Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Burch Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • McPherson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Grimsley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Howe Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (330 more) ...
    • Thompson Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Moody Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Hewitt Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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 Meeks in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Meeks.

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

  • Florence
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Mars Bluff
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Mars Bluff is located in Florence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mars Bluff
  • Howe
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Howe is located in Florence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
  • Claussen
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Claussen is located in Florence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claussen
  • Palmetto
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Palmetto is located in Darlington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmetto
  • Ebenezer
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Ebenezer is located in Florence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebenezer
  • Effingham
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Timmonsville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Laughlin
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Laughlin is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laughlin
  • Mont Clare
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Mont Clare is located in Darlington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mont Clare
  • Sellers
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Brownsville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Brownsville is located in Marlboro County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Syracuse
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Syracuse is located in Darlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syracuse
    • Friendfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Friendfield is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendfield
    • Hyman
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Hyman is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyman

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

Newspapers Published in Meeks ...

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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Meeks.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Meeks, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Meeks.

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 Meeks:

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 Meeks, 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- Meeks) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.