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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 Nelsons Ferry (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 Nelsons Ferry. 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 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.

Nelsons Ferry is located in Orangeburg 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 Orangeburg County: Aiken, Bamberg, Barnwell, Berkeley, Calhoun, Clarendon, Colleton, Dorchester & Lexington.

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

  • Orangeburg County     (The home county of Nelsons Ferry)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nelsons Ferry, with the one closest to Nelsons Ferry listed first.
    • Ferguson ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
      • Ferguson is located in Orangeburg County
    • Eutawville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Green Town
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Town
      • Green Town is located in Orangeburg County
    • Possum Town
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Possum Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possum Town
      • Possum Town is located in Orangeburg County
    • Vance
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
      • Vance is located in Orangeburg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vance <1>
    • Holly Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Wells
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
      • Wells is located in Orangeburg County
    • Santee
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Parler
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parler
      • Parler is located in Orangeburg County
    • Elloree
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bowman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Wren Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • 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
  • Berkeley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nelsons Ferry, with the one closest to Nelsons Ferry listed first.
    • Eadytown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eadytown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eadytown
      • Eadytown is located in Berkeley County
    • Sandridge
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sandridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandridge
      • Sandridge is located in Berkeley County
    • Cross
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Judge Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Judge Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judge Town
      • Judge Town is located in Berkeley County
    • Pineville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Region Town ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Region Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Region Town
      • Region Town is located in Berkeley County
    • Russellville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Pinopolis
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bonneau
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Saint Stephen
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Harris Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harris Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Town
      • Harris Town is located in Berkeley County
    • Moncks Corner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nelsons Ferry, with the one closest to Nelsons Ferry listed first.
    • Creston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creston
      • Creston is located in Calhoun County
    • Cameron
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • 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
    • Saint Matthews
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Charleston County
    • Lincolnville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnville
      • Lincolnville is located in Charleston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,624 people
  • Clarendon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nelsons Ferry, with the one closest to Nelsons Ferry listed first.
    • Shad Moss village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
    • Davis Station
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Summerton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Jordan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jordan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
      • Jordan is located in Clarendon County
    • Panola
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Panola. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
      • Panola is located in Clarendon County
    • Silver
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver
      • Silver is located in Clarendon County
    • Manning
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Paxville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Alcolu
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Gable
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Colleton County
  • Dorchester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nelsons Ferry, with the one closest to Nelsons Ferry listed first.
    • Harleyville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Dorchester
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Saint George
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Ridgeville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Reevesville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Grover
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Brownsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
      • Brownsville is located in Dorchester County
    • Summerville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Flowertown Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flowertown Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowertown Village
      • Flowertown Village is located in Dorchester County
  • Sumter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nelsons Ferry, with the one closest to Nelsons Ferry listed first.
    • Pinewood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Lakewood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • Privateer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • 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
  • Williamsburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nelsons Ferry, with the one closest to Nelsons Ferry listed first.
    • Greeleyville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lane
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane
      • Lane is located in Williamsburg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 443 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lane <1>
    • Salters
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Nelsons Ferry ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Nelsons Ferry.

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

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

  • Eutawville Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eutawville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eutawville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Springfield Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Springfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Springfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Joiner Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Joiner Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Joiner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Joiner Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Joiner Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Joiner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Walworth Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walworth Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walworth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Walnut Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walnut Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walnut Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Felder Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Felder Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Felder Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Liberty Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Liberty Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Liberty Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bethlehem Southern Methodist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Pratt Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pratt Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pratt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rocks Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Corinth Baptist Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Corinth Baptist Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Corinth Baptist Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (206 more) ...
    • Pratt Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pratt Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pratt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Butler Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Butler Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Butler Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Mt. Pleasant Plantation Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Pleasant Plantation Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Pleasant Plantation Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

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

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

  • Vance
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
    • Vance is located in Orangeburg County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vance <1>
  • Connors ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Connors have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Connors
    • Connors is located in Orangeburg County
  • Holly Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Wells
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
    • Wells is located in Orangeburg County
  • Saint Paul
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Paul have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
    • Saint Paul is located in Clarendon County
  • Eadytown
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eadytown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eadytown
    • Eadytown is located in Berkeley County
  • Dantzler
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dantzler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dantzler
    • Dantzler is located in Orangeburg County
  • Parler
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parler
    • Parler is located in Orangeburg County
  • Sandridge
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sandridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandridge
    • Sandridge is located in Berkeley County
  • Davis Station
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Summerton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Felderville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Felderville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felderville
    • Felderville is located in Orangeburg County
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Jordan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jordan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
      • Jordan is located in Clarendon County
    • Elloree
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Harleyville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Nelsons Ferry ...

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 19 newspapers that have been published in the area around Nelsons Ferry.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Nelsons Ferry, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Nelsons Ferry.

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 Nelsons Ferry:

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

The official website for Orangeburg County: www.orangeburgcounty.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>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.
<4>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.
<5>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 Nelsons Ferry, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Nelsons Ferry) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Nelsons Ferry. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.4307, Longitude: -80.3262       In this case, the coordinates for Nelsons Ferry have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 22 Apr 2025